Don't Be So Hard on Yourself (141 words)

My chest was on fire and my knees were locking up. I couldn't swallow my own saliva.

Others ran past me without batting an eye. They moved smoothly, with no signs of giving up.

I laid on the grass next to the road. The shoes pounding the pavement echoed in my head.

Some tried to offer a hand back up.

I declined. I had already accepted my fate. I let out an angry scream and began to cry.

More runners continued to offer encouragement.

"You've come ninety-six miles!"

"You got this, keep going!"

"Only four more!"

I couldn't go any longer. I wasn't good enough. This was it.

I took off my legs and let the metal bang against the asphalt. I didn't care. I didn't deserve them. I was a quitter. I was a loser. I had been defeated.