Guilt

There are some days in life when going for a run just isn't an option. Most high school runners plan to train six days a week, usually taking Sunday off. Our coaches encourage this and most tend to be a little disappointed (this is usually an understatement seeing as my coach gets more than "a little disappointed")  when we can’t make it to every practice. However, things come up that can prevent this goal from happening every week, especially for the high school student. High schoolers these days seem to have broken the click based social system depicted often in the 1980 cult movies, including but not limited to my favorites: "The Breakfast Club", "16 Candles", and "Pretty in Pink". While this concept is generally beneficial to many, it can create a much busier life for the average high school student.  With the absence of the pressure to conform to fit one group of people, students are commonly involved heavily in the arts, academics, and athletics. Take me for example. I am a junior in high school and in addition to running cross country and track, I am apart of one of the show choirs at my school, take several advanced classes, and have a part time job.  I am also not an oddity and several of my friends have equally busy lives. So what is my point? My point is that people are busy, and running is often not the most important part of our lives. On occasions it is normal and sometimes unavoidable that you might need to skip a run. 

While bowing out on a run every once in a while because you have another commitment might be necessary, it doesn't mean that the guilt goes away; the guilt that seems to consume you when you can’t get in a workout that day. You feel as if you are cheating yourself and wrecking your training. The world seems to be mocking you and you know that because you didn’t run today your time at the next race will automatically be 45 second worse and the earth will be sucked up into a black hole completely devoid of light. While this is clearly an extreme exaggeration, skipping a run that you know other people on your team got in that day can be very stressful. For most people, or at least me anyways, it makes us feel like we are getting behind in our training and will be worse or less fit runners. While this may be ever so slightly true on a minor level, there is so much more that goes into being a good runner, and skipping one workout will not affect you that much. Think about it this way, when you are toeing the line at the state cross country meet or any other big meet that has been the ultimate goal of all of your training thus far, you will not be thinking, “Wow! I am going to do awful today because I couldn’t make it to practice on the 18th of the month!.”  You will be thinking about the race and concentrating on staying mentally tough, and that practice will most likely have zero effect on your race. So give yourself a break and don’t let the guilt consume you so much!