Surfers Paradise

Chapter 7: The Joys and Wonders of Land Training

I was dead for the entire three miles we ran up and down the beach, but I knew I had to keep going. It was starting to get sunnier yet my face still dripped with sweat. I probably looked horrible compared to my brother, the runner of the family who clocked a five-minute mile time and looked like he could probably run three more miles after this. I hated his stupid running tricks that made him look like his run was effortless when in reality wasn't, but it was all part of the illusion so he looked better than the slower and worse runners like myself. My feet were killing me because we were in the sand and with each stride I kept kicking sand up behind me so it stuck to my sweat.

"Can we stop?" I asked for the 100th time.

"No, we're almost done," he lied again. This time he was telling the truth because I could see Sam, Ryan, and Spencer all sitting in the sand on a blanket in front of my house watching us run back.

All of a sudden, Blake began to full-on sprint the last 50 feet. I willed my feet to move faster and keep up with him, but my muscles resisted. I was ultra-competitive and forced my legs to continue the same way I made my arms continue paddling at ANS yesterday with Miranda. Blake sadly still beat me by a solid few seconds.

"Have fun?" Ryan asked us sarcastically with a smile forming on his face. I really didn't want to know what he thought of my appearance at that moment, so I shot him a dirty look.

"Ready?" Spencer asked me.

I looked at him in shock. I needed at least 30 minutes to chill out before the next set of training they had in store for me. I also had a new episode of The Bachelorette recorded. I liked watching crappy reality television during the summer while my good shows were finished for the season.

"I just ran three miles. Can I just relax for a little while?" I asked.

"No," Spencer replied with a there's no room for arguing with me tone.

"I'm all gross and sweaty."

"Too bad. Do you want to win or do you want to lose to Miranda and never go back to ANS again?" Spencer questioned in complete seriousness with an intensity I had never seen before, except when it came to sports.

"I want to win," I grumbled.

"You what?" he said cupping his ear. "You want Miranda to win?"

Was he really appealing to my competitive side while I had my hands on my hips and continued to catch my breath?

"I want to win!" I yelled.

"That's the Hannah Gold I know. You just have to let her out," he said with a proud big brother smile. "You can have a short break to hose off."

He nodded at Ryan to go with me.

I had been pulling away from my usual Type-A mode ever since school and finals had finished. Summer had always been the time I could just chill out and not worry about anything else and just surf my heart out. My Type-A traits were starting to come back and filled my mind just like they did at school. No more "chill Hannah." I was determined to get what I wanted for everyone else and, most importantly, myself. Nothing was going to stop me and I had to start putting in 110 percent. From that moment on, I realized even more how much I wanted to win, not just to beat Miranda, but for personal satisfaction.

Ryan and I walked through the gate that led to the side of my house by the driveway. He grabbed the hose and aimed it straight at me like we were children again. The cold water felt so good on my sweaty skin. I looked straight at Ryan, who was expecting a different reaction. He put his hand out to test the water and looked even more confused.