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Julia Lucas Writes on Her Summer at ZAP FitnessPublished by
NC Native Julia Lucas' Summer at ZAPPublished by ZAP Fitness on October 10, 2013 I wanted to write a blog explaining why I spent my summer here at ZAP Fitness. It’s a good question, honestly. My home is Eugene, OR, also known as Track Town, USA. I moved here four years ago to join the Oregon Track Club Elite, a team similar to ZAP, and in those years I have wanted for nothing. My coach, team, facilities, fans and resources are world class and I feel deeply lucky to be living the life I do. However, my time here has not been easy. If you, as a fan of the sport, know anything about me it is this: I am not an Olympian. A year ago I was a favorite to make the Olympic team, and I almost did, but I didn’t. Some other girl did instead. She lunged past me in the last step of the race, beating me to the line by .04 seconds. In a packed and silent stadium of 20,000 people we both stood reeling for a moment. Then, she went on to celebrate in open-mouthed disbelief, grabbing her American flag and running her victory lap. I sat down on the track. I’d like to say that I picked myself up by my bootstraps and used the disappointment as catharsis for a big return. But, the truth is that it’s been a hard year. It was hard in ways that I didn’t know how to fix. I tried to wait it out. I got back to training, did all the work, ran all the miles, and generally lived the single-minded existence that got me this far but as a sad and not-quite-all-there-version of myself. I did not race well. I did not expect to. And, after a year of uninspiring existence, I knew that I had to either find my fire again or hang up my spikes. That’s why I asked Pete if I could spend my summer at ZAP. I discovered running here in North Carolina as a gawky teenager on my high school cross country team, and I loved it immediately. I loved it without knowing or caring why. On single track trails through dense woods, sprinting around blind curves, skipping from rock to rock, I surprised myself with how fast and how far I could go. I felt strong on these trails. I felt big. |
