Partway up, I ran into Coach Brent again. He said he’d hike the last ascent with me - help me reach the top in time - but with a caveat: I had to follow 2 rules of his:
1 - Do what he says, no questions asked.
2 - Repeat the mantra, “I’m here for me. I won’t stop.”
I’ve never pushed my body as hard as I did on that ascent. Coach Brent was like a guardian angel, propelling me forward, encouraging me to push the pace.
I was huffing and puffing - it felt like no matter how fast I was breathing, my body wanted more oxygen. My muscles screamed for a break. My body was in physical agony.
But my mind was strong. I’m here for me. I won’t stop.
I looked up and we were only 100 feet away from the finish. Coach Brent turned to me, and simply said “stop.”
A long silence sat over us, broken only by the screams and cheers traveling down to us from the finish line. It was 5:30 - there was still 30 minutes to go! Coach Brent had pushed me so hard that I had finished the ascent in an hour and a half - my fastest one yet!
As I fought to catch my breath, he broke the silence: “I pushed you before so you could enjoy now. I didn’t want to rush you at the end.”
“Look back. Look down the trail… You did this, Amit.”