Undergraduate / My first track meet - writing about an experience. Commonapp/Stevenstech essay [7]

I took a shot at finally writing a big essay, and I need help revising it. I feel I put together a bunch of thoughts and organized them improperly.

Also, I need to shorten it to less than 500 words for my stevenstech application.
Any thoughts?

Oh, and the topic is just me writing about an experience: my first track meet.

With trees and houses flying by my window, it felt like hours before our bus arrived at the school parking lot. My thighs and feet felt extremely tight and once I stepped off the bus, relief spread throughout my body. I could finally move around, and I proceeded to reach for my toes several times before I joined the rest of the team. As the track got closer, my stomach clenched and I felt an all too familiar tingle. I felt weightless; my feet almost crumbled under me, and I could not command them to start the two-lap warm-up. When I finally regained control over my legs, I followed the people that I had just met three weeks ago and now considered my teammates. After half of my first lap, I took in the scenery: there were hundreds of trees recovering from the winter with fresh, green leaves all around me and the baseball and football fields before the entrance to the track had dark green turf. By the time I finished my two laps, my vision was crisp, clear, and colors were brighter than ever. My legs felt pumped and ready to take on the races I was sprinting: the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.

The chaos and organized mess of all the runners, throwers, hurdlers, etc... forced me to walk to the bleachers and ask my coach what heat I was running in. I heard the call for all the 100-meter runners and promptly jogged to the start line. The tingle in my stomach came back as I set my sprinting blocks to the positions I had become accustomed to in practice. The official yelled, "Ready, Set!" and I got myself ready to explode off my right foot. I awaited the gunshot, when someone started running - I also started and a false start on the other runner was called. All 6 runners in my heat walked back to the start line, and we got into positions once again. This time, the tingle no longer existed, and I was just awaiting the adrenaline rush to take over. I heard the gunshot, and I pushed as hard as I could off the block and began pumping my arms. At the 45-meter mark, I began seeing the entire race in slow motion and I knew then and there that it was moments like that, that I would live for and run for. Immediately, I snapped back to reality, and the race was over. I did not know the results, and I did not wish to know. I felt content and excited.

After I was done roaming around lost in myself, I walked to the sidelines and cheered on my teammates during their races. This was a feeling I had not experienced before. I continued shouting and encouraging everyone as they ran past me. Soon, however, the official announced the 200-meter start, and I prepared for another thrilling ride. I waited for the weightless feeling, which came when my heat was up. I wanted the feeling to be over and replaced as soon as possible, so I was twitching for the gunshot when I was in my ready position. As soon as I heard it, I exploded as fast as I could and ran my hardest. I heard and saw many of my teammates cheering me on and yelling, repaying my support. Their voices made me want to try even harder, and when I felt fatigue, I pushed myself and continued to run hard. I did not know that a simple "Let's go Pranav!" could make me push myself and achieve a personal best.

After that track meet, I walked away knowing that one person working in a group or a team can trigger a chain event. That one person can cause everyone to contribute and in turn, help him out. I knew that I wanted to be that leader as many times as possible in my life. I've applied the lesson I learned from the meet at every chance possible, and I have become a more productive person. On the ride home, I also realized that I had found a passion, and I needed to keep it close to me. I had been looking for something, and I had finally found it. Now, I run both winter and spring track and accomplished my goal of running for varsity. I hope to continue running competitively for that rush of adrenaline and those moments of slow motion that make me feel like I am ahead of everyone.

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I know the end is squeezed in; I have no idea how to put it together well. I'm trying to show (not tell) and then reflect on my experience by saying I learned something from it. That it wasn't just a pointless experience I'm writing about.

Thanks to anyone who helps out in advance,
Locus

Undergraduate / Track and field; my job; playing hockey - Common APP Question [5]

I'm lost on what to write about. I have some ideas, and I want to know if they're acceptable.

The Common Application question: "In the space provided below, please elaborate on one of your activities (extracurricular, personal activities, or work experience)(150 words or fewer)":

1) My first season of track and field experience. It was spring of junior year, and I will continue with winter and spring track this year. I learned a way to cope with stress, and that hard-work does have positive effects. I usually slacked in school and got by with As/Bs. It made me understand that although you may be fine, hard-work helps you go that extra mile to achieve excellence.

2) My job as a page (book shelver) in the public library of my city. The different people I met there helped me get out of my hard-working social group and understand the difficulties people go through on a daily basis. My communication skills developed as well.

3) Playing hockey with a group of friends. Over time the group changed and different people started coming, with 3-4 originals still playing (me being one of them). I basically became accustomed to adapting to different people playing, and playing different positions and being a team player.

What would be my best bet to write on? Are my ideas too cliched?
Thanks in advance for the opinions.