Distance Decreases Drama

There is no doubt that no matter what the sport, if you are competing at a high level, you will be pushed mentally and physically to the limits of your ability and will to succeed. However, there is something in specific about distance running that seems to excessively test people’s limits and mentality. It goes without saying that running seems to be desirable to mostly those who are up to the challenge and hard work that accompanies competition. I realize that all sports require a great deal of commitment and sacrifice to be successful, but I would just like to point out that you don't normally see people going out for cross country for solely the social aspect as you do with many other school sports. One has to be invested in running at least a little in order to enjoy it.

Given this fact, it isn’t surprising that the level of drama and bickering associated with cross country is a lot less than many other sports. I feel that this is because distance running seems to bring teammates together. Everyone knows that what they are doing kind of sucks, and no one gets 100% pleasure from those summer days where you have to run 9 miles in 100 degree weather. This atmosphere of hard work and challenge acts to bring together teammates because generally, people feel as if they are getting through the tough workouts beside their friends who know what they are going through and can struggle with them.

Another point to mention is that in cross country and track, everyone knows at any given point where they are at. The times and races do not lie, so there is relatively minimal debate and conflict when it comes to teammates trying to figure out who is the best runner. I have heard many instances in which teammates from other sports (and occasionally track) argue over who should be on varsity or who is the more valuable player. In track, everyone knows where they stand, and the lineup is usually justified. That being said though, it has always seemed to me like no one really cares who the best runners are! We all just put in the work at practice, have fun at team bonding, and support one another on and off the track, no matter what level we are at. I love this feeling of “mutual suffering” as my team sometimes likes to rather dramatically think about our sport that brings us together and usually allows respect from one another across the board. 

Lastly, and probably most obviously, distance running brings teammates together simply from running together in practices! Spending an hour or more a day with you team running together on long runs provides a lot of time to talk and get to know each other. Making friends with one another usually helps to decrease the amount of drama in it of itself, and this goes for all sports. 

A List of Essential Supplies to Bring to a Meet

• Jersey- obviously a very important piece of equipment and most likely not easily forgettable.
• Spikes- another highly essential item.
• Training shoes- to warm up and cool down in.
• Pony tail- I can’t imagine racing with my hair in my hair blowing around me and distracting me, and though you could probably borrow one from a teammate in an emergency, it is nice to have one or two handy. Do remember to remove them from your wrist before the race though!
• Water bottle- hydration is key! (especially on those 90 degree meet days where the heat seems suffocating).
• Tee-shirt and shorts- to put on over your jersey to warm up in on warm days.
• Pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt to warm up in- these will help your muscles to stay loose and ready to race!
• Under armour top and long tights if headed to a potentially cold or windy meet.
• Extra pair of socks/underwear/sports bra- putting on a fresh pair of socks before you race can feel refreshing, and as for the underwear... you can never be too careful!
• Extra spikes/ shoe wrench- sometimes desired in case a spike or two falls out.
• Headband- keeps the hair out of you face.
• Food and snacks- to energize you before the meet and to eat on the bus ride home.
• Sunscreen/bug spray/chap stick- track meets can be long, so it is best to be protected from the elements. 
• Meet lineup- if available.
• A positive attitude and the will to put forth your best effort in all of your races that day! :) 

The Correlation Between Soceer and Track

        In my three years of high school running, I have noticed a pretty distinct pattern when it comes to competitive distance runners and soccer players, and that correlation is that they are often one and the same. Many soccer players who go on to be runners find that they are fairly decent at it, but that is really not all that surprising I suppose.

        Soccer involves a lot of running, so kids who have been playing all their lives have already built up a pretty good endurance base. They already know how to run and push themselves for the most part, though of course there is a difference in the mentality required and the pacing of cross country verses the starting and sprinting that makes up soccer.  
         Many of the friends that I played for years with on my soccer team are now some of my greatest competition, and several are too fast for me to even compete with at this point. The speed and strength that soccer players built up from years of playing the game now help them to get to the level they are at much quicker than many others on their team who were not exposed to this level of physicality from such a young age. That this is not to say that soccer players have a huge advantage over non-soccer players on the competitive levels of the track community, but soccer players are generally more likely to join cross country or track in the first place because they have been exposed to running and are more likely to start out at a more competitive level because they are probably at a high decent fitness level already. However once people get to the competitive level, the playing field levels out and everyone is always striving to lower their times and improve their fitness no matter where they started at.  

Giving up a Passion

          From the time I was six years old, I was an avid soccer player whom has always loved to follow in her sisters foot steps through club soccer. I made most of my friends through my team in the Heartland Soccer Club, and was thrilled to spend my weekends in Des Moines or Rockford competing with my team and hanging out in hotel rooms. Soccer was the only sport that I was ever really serious about throughout middle school, and I still love to follow up in the Women's National Team during the Olympics and World Cups. Soccer  compromised a huge part of my life, time, and mind for the first 14 years of my life, and I liked it that way.

         This all changed though in the months before my freshman year of high school, when I had a big decision to make. I had made my schools freshman class show choir and was really excited about it, but I also wanted to do both cross country and club soccer as well as maintain a rigorous class load. I originally saw no problem with being involved with all of these activities, but my mom convinced me that I would just spread myself too thin and struggle through the year. I deeply resented her for this and postponed my decision until nearly the last possible minute. I loved soccer and didn't really know anything else from it; I felt comfortable with it. I knew however, that I was a better runner than I was a soccer player, and I was excited to see how far I could go with the sport. Judging by the topic of my blog, I am guessing that you all know what direction I decided to go with. I quit soccer and transformed my identity from the soccer girl to the runner, with was not a terribly easy transition to make. 

       Sometimes I look back on my soccer days and I can't help but smile fondly, I mean it was a great chapter of my life, but that is all. The chapter is over, and though that was a very hard thing for me to comprehend at the time, I realize now that soccer was great for me as a kid, but in the end it was not something that I was necessarily meant to stick with for the long run. I still have my days though where I miss the sport, for instance last week my track team had a soccer scrimmage after practice on for some friendly team bonding. Lets just day that I might have gotten a tab bit too into the game and some of my teammates were shocked to see the shortest girl on the team tackle a ball away from on of our best throwers, who is clearly a lot stronger then me. 

     So my objective in writing this blog is to state that we all have extracurricular activities and hobbies that we are passionate about, and that it good! It helps us to define our values and personalities as individuals. That being said though, we don't all just have one talent or interest, and just because you may outgrow one interest, it does not mean that you will not soon find another hobby to occupy your mind and love again. It's not easy to give up something that has been an important part of your life for so long, and trust me I shed more than a few tears, but I also love my team and the atmosphere of the other sports I am currently involved in, and know that sometimes there is not a 100% right or wrong decision. Compromises are a part of your life, but most of the time life has a way of leading you down a satisfactory path. Giving up something you love is hard, but it can sometimes lead you to new and exciting adventures and experiences that you otherwise would never have had the opportunity to explore. 

Double starting

The starters say it before every race and they phrase it in almost the exact same way, but the athletes tend to gloss right over it and ignore it. What is it that the starters say, you ask? They recite this well-known and simple testament: "If you hear the gun go off a second time, it means that someone has either false started or fallen within the first 100 meters. If you hear the gun shot, please turn around and we will restart." This sentiment is heard often, but many athletes don't pay much attention to it because it is such a rare thing. I for one had never had to restart a race before, though of course I have seen it happen, and every time I see it, I think, "Awe that has to suck!” I had never actually experienced double starting before, that is until my meet last Tuesday, the meet otherwise known as "The Meet of the Triple Start". 

I lined up for the 1500 and everything was normal. I had the nerves going and was anxiously jumping up and down in an attempt to stay warm and calm myself. All the competitors were all lined up and ready to go, the starter pulled out his gun, he said the magic words, he pointed his gun at the air, and a tiny puff of air resulted. The starter had forgotten to reload his gun. He laughed about it, but we athletes were all a little on edge in anticipation of competition. We smiled and tensely went back to the waterfall line and waited to start again.

For the second time the starter said the magic words, put his gun up in the air, and the gun went off. We didn’t get far though until the gun went off again. This had never happened to me before, but I was well instructed on what to do, so I stopped right away and turned around with the rest of the girls. I looked toward the starting line and I saw that my teammate racing in this heat with me was lying on the floor in the infield! I ran toward her and tried to reach her, but she was surrounded by the other girls who had gotten to her first. She had been accidentally spiked and pushed over, so she was alright, but a little shaken up. 

In the end we both finished the race and everything was fine, but it was such a weird feeling to start the race three times. However, as soon as the race started, the fact that I had already started the race slipped my mind and it just seemed as if you had done an extra stride. The race felt normal while I was competing, there was just something in the back of my mind the whole time telling me that something was slightly off!

Boxed-In

You are standing at the starting line of the 1500 meter race, toeing the waterfall line and maybe getting in a quick stride or two. You anxiously jump up and down while the starter assigns a heat and position to everyone else competing. You are the second runner on the inside, and there are 17 other girls on the outside lanes who clearly don’t plan on staying there long. The man walks in front of the group, gives a few last minute instructions that everyone there has heard a hundred times, and the gun goes off. Half of the runners on the outside push forward, and with the bend of the waterfall line aiding them, stride ahead of you and step in front. The rest of the girls started off a little slower and are now falling in behind you within the first hundred meters. You are now boxed in. 

Being boxed in is the worst. You feel as if you are in a herd of livestock and in this position one can only hope that the race soon spaces out enough to find a gap and break free. Even if the pace of the clump is a good pace for you, it is still usually best to be free so that you can strategize better and work your way toward the front of the group. When you are stuck in the middle of five or more people, you always seem to be on the verge of falling off the track, and your feet are constantly in a tangle of colorful spikes that threaten to trip you, or worse, cut your leg with a spike. Being boxed in is simply just stressful and anxiety-inducing for me. I always feel as if I am in an uncomfortably precarious position and need to try to find my way to the outside, which is generally what you want to do if you feel that you can pass the clump.

Despite what my last paragraph may let on, there are times in which being boxed in is not always a negative thing. In times when you don’t feel like you have enough energy or fight to get around the group, than you can just stick to the inside and let the clump break up in its own, which it usually will within the first 400 meters. You can even use your position on the inside as a way to motivate you to stick with the group if they are helping you push the pace of your race, then in the last 200 meters of the race you can try to fight your way to the head of the pack, which is probably a lot smaller now than it was at the beginning of the race. My coach always says, “Get to the front of the pack if you want to get a better position with just one splurge of energy and effort!” That is of course given that you have it in you to push ahead of the pack, which one certainly does not always have. It is always a great feeling when you can push ahead though, because you are passing a lot of people in a short distance when dealing with packs.

But like I said, being boxed in is the worst! J

Struggling in Training

Having a bad day or two when training can be discouraging, but it is not the end of the world. Most athletes have practices in which they just can’t seem to get it together, days when they can’t keep up with the people they usually run with, and days when they keep failing to hit their interval time. But you know what, everyone has those days.

My freshman year there was a senior on my team who was the best runner we had. I often ran with her and a few other girls on the team on long runs, and I would have to push myself to stick with them on most days. Every once in a while, she would have a day in which the rest of the group would be pushing her and she fell back a little bit. Though I had fallen back on several occasions, it struck me that she had these days too, because I always thought of her as invincible and the best.

My inexperienced mind now understood that it was ok and completely normal to have practices in which you seem to be struggling your way through it. Everybody’s bodies recover at different rates, and sometimes your body is just feeling exceptionally tiered, soar, bloated, cramped up, or whatever else it may be that is holding you back that day.

Push through the bad practices and let it roll off your chest, because soon you will be back in the grind and feeling yourself again. You will have bad days that are frustrating, and good days that can sometimes offer a false sense of optimism and security, so let the practices come and remember that you are working each day to get one step closer toward your ultimate goal, whatever that may be.