RunningAHEAD - Topic: Need some feedback (page 2)

Jeff

Why is it sideways?

posted: 2/18/2009 at 9:53 AM

Quote from Phidippides on 2/18/2009 at 8:46 AM:

I will tell you what I told my 17 year old son (a few weeks ago) who has asked me this same question. First and foremost to set your priorities (and in my opinion ought to be something like this): #1. School work #2. College Prep #3. XC/Track #4. Fun with friends

The good thing about this list of priorities is that if they are done right, (as spaniel mentioned) each of these things feed each other. Putting them in a list like this can sometimes be misleading, as if each of these were discrete aspects of life. Sometimes you will have to make decisions between them, but my experience was that the more intensely I threw myself into each of these areas of life, the less opposition there was between them. How, for example, is "College Prep" any different from "School work" (what happened to calling this "learning"?) and "XC/Track" (or, in other words--"finally out of that damn chair and ready to use my body!"). And "Fun with friends" supports these things too--I mean your friends are just the people you learn with and run with. The cooler these folks are, the more rewarding the whole process--and vice versa. Anyhow. This post probably falls in the "more feedback than you bargained for" category. Try to enjoy what you're doing. Those who enjoy their work, excel. Geb:

Stephen Hawking

jEfFgObLuE

I've got a fever...

posted: 2/18/2009 at 10:35 AM

You have your whole life to run marathons. Many would argue that at 17, you're body isn't even ready for it. Portuguese running legend Carlos Lopes set the marathon world record when he was 37 years old -- marathons are for late bloomers. Smile

But HS track / XC is something special, and I really miss it. Running on a team is an irreplaceable experience, and will make you more well-rounded as a person. As Jeff (I think) once said, there are few things in an adult's real life that match running the anchor leg of the 4x400m relay, so do it while you can. It may seem hard to balance things, but unless you have a job or something else that takes up a lot of time, it's not that bad. Track practice should be done by 4:30, 5:00 at the latest -- that gives you plenty of time to study. My typical day in the fall involved XC practice after school, delivering newspapers from 4~5, dinner, marching band practice from 6~7:30, then home and studying. It can be done. And you know what? It was a blast.

On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

spaniel

Feeling the growl again

posted: 2/18/2009 at 12:39 PM

Just to add.... The above posters are correct, it is more than just a series of trade-offs. In college my teammates WERE my social circle. Yes, I missed out on social events with friends who didn't run, but as I look back at college EVERY ONE of the college friends I still talk to ran either XC or track with me. They're some of the best friends I have. I was fortunate that for years after college, I lived close enough to at least 2-3 of them to still hang out and train with them on a regular basis. Those were great times. I no longer live close to any of them and we all miss "the good old days".

"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

Phidippides

posted: 2/18/2009 at 1:13 PM

Quote from jEfFgObLuE on 2/18/2009 at 10:35 AM:

You have your whole life to run marathons. marathons are for late bloomers.

Whew - its a good thing that marathons are for late bloomers -- it gives me some hope.........

Champions are made when no one is watching

Need some feedback (Read 690 times)