Ahh, the Sweet Smell of Victory Perfume
Thank you to Kevin McDermott for submitting his Most Memorable Mile; we're now waiting for someone to begin producing Mile perfume.
Spring of 1976. The last dual meet of my Senior year, and the last track meet of my high school career as I most certainly wasn't qualifying for sectionals, countys, states, etc...
Four years of Cross Country, Winter Track and Spring and I had never broken the 5:00 minute mile. I paced around on the infield 20 minutes before my last race muttering and wondering aloud why I had never amounted to anything more than a 'scrub' (the term back then for the slowest runners).
I could feel myself getting angry and was close to tears. It's not till many years later that I realize, for the very first time I was actually getting psyched up for a race and not psyched out as was my usual race preparation.
Four minutes and fifty-five seconds later I had a 10 second p.r.! (no p.b.'s back then) and the air on the bus going back home, heavy with the stench of sweat and atomic balm, smelled like victory perfume.
By far, the highlight of my 12 seasons of running.
