The Joy of Overcoming Pain :: Personal Narrative Essay Example

The Joy of Overcoming Pain Propelled forward by my surging leg muscles, sweat gushing down my face, the harsh reality of this 50-mile bike race has begun to invade my body. My eyes remain intensely focused straight ahead: Grinding away along the racecourse, I see five girls from a different team about 200 yards ahead of me. My team needs a contribution from me, I realize, and I make the decision to pass all three of them. Through the heat rising off the asphalt I can finally see the distant white line proclaiming the finish. My mind propels my legs to their maximum ability. In these last few seconds of exertion, the years of hard work are paying off. Soaring through the finish, I have achieved flight. Biking is a pure sport, requiring little more than a brain ready to conquer pain. It is a sport that calls for commitment and mental toughness. Through testing myself, I increase my resilience and grow stronger. I unleash the power of my mind, and I bike. Some people are born with great biking ability, and others, like myself, are born with the desire to excel at every challenge. I've become the best biker I can through hard work and dedication. Challenging myself with new goals every day, I bike against the forces of gravity and inertia. I love the thrill of competition -- the euphoric feeling I get when mind overcomes pain. As a four-year member of my high school biking team, I have experienced just about every physical infirmity that comes from biking. I have dealt with shin splints, biker's knee, broken toes, and pulled calf mussels. My orthopedic surgeon took one look at my legs and admitted that I'm "not built to be a biker." Yet, I chose to continue biking because of its daily challenges and rewards. I've learned from this sport that by focusing single-mindedly on achieving a goal, I can make any obstacle trivial. I still hear my coach's voice in my head: "If you sacrifice yourself, good things will happen." As much as a bike race requires individual strength physically and mentally, it also requires a team effort to succeed. Like sisters in a family, the girls I bike with understand and respect one another. We remind each other to work harder, eat right, and to accomplish the most we can.