Ahh running... Like many people, I have a constant love/hate relationship with running. I ran track and cross country (okay, one season of cross country) in high school, which is where my love for running began. This love/hate relationship is still strong today, and as long as I run, it will never go away...
1. In High School
When you have practice everyday after school, plus meets on the weekend, staying in shape is a piece of cake. In fact, you can have three pieces of cake, and your metabolism is so high that nothing changes. You complete every workout that your coaches make you do with no problem, and they're always there to push you to do your best. In addition, the friends you make in track and cross country know the struggle of early morning practices, getting home late from a meet in the middle of nowhere, and are always there to motivate you through a tough workout. In this stage of the game, you work out religiously with constant motivation, and you expect to continue this momentum with you into the summer, and into college.
2. First Summer After High School
Okay, so you don’t have practices every day like last summer... And, there’s no one there to know if you skipped a workout, right? On the other hand, you’re still in really great shape, and you can run a 5K like it’s nothing. In fact, you’ve signed up for at least three 5Ks this summer because you miss the feeling of racing in a meet. Occasionally, you’ll show up at a summer practice and prove to your coaches that you still run even though they can’t tell you to anymore. You feel like you really have your life together because you are finally in charge of your workouts, and for the most part, you are doing a kick-butt job at it. Whenever someone mentions the “Freshman 15,” you’ll get in college, you just laugh it off because you know that will NEVER happen to you...
3. Freshman Year in College
“Oh my god why is everyone so athletic here? You went to state every year and placed in the top three? Cool. I feel insignificant now...” When starting college, these are thoughts that go through every runner’s mind. Coming to college is an eye-opener, and if you thought you were in shape before, you were wrong. You start to miss your old coaches and running buddies, because you spent four years of your life with them. Now, it’s 100 percent up to you to continue your running habits, and to find the right motivators to help you continue your love of running, even with the stress of being away from home, school work, extracurricular activities, sporting events, and much more...
4. Summer After Freshman Year
By this time, you’ve gotten a summer job or internship that is taking up most of your time. You also have friends and family taking up the rest of your time. At this point, where do you fit in your workouts? Sure, you can get up at the crack of dawn to fit in a run before work, or you could use that extra time to catch up on sleep. You could run as soon as you get home from work, or you could use that time to catch up with your best friend. It’s a lot harder to maintain a workout plan this summer compared to last year. Some days, you count taking the stairs and walking the dog as your workout, which makes you sad. And...when you do finally convince yourself to go on a run, your pace isn’t nearly what it used to be. You just have to remind yourself that a slow run is better than no run at all!
5. Any Time After Stage 4
It’s a constant repeat of Stage 4, unless you turn into Usain Bolt overnight. Your life will get insanely busy sometimes, so you just have to make the time for running whenever you can.
Some days you’ll find yourself on a workout kick where you run until your heart can’t run anymore. On other days, you will barely have enough energy to get off the couch. Guess what? It’s perfectly okay to feel both of those! Running is a hobby that people have for a lifetime, and you may get off track at some points, but you’ll never stop doing what you love.
