Notes
So my scholastic running career is definitively over. In my last meet, I did what I set out to do: run to points in the 1500 and do what I needed to to put myself in position for points in the 5k. I am proud of my decisions and my efforts to bring them to fruition. My track career has been marked by ups and downs but support from my teammates, family, and friends has been constant, as has my dedication, discipline, and work ethic. I haven't been perfect since the third-grade track meet, but I can honestly say that I have few regrets.
What comes next? I don't know. I thought that by now I would be in the the clutches of an existential crisis, but I'm not. Perhaps I'm too busy, thinking about vibrational modes, failure mechanisms, and two-step Lax-Wendroff schemes. Maybe it's an upcoming graduation, an upcoming job, and an upcoming wedding. More probable, is that my relationship with running has changed, especially over the past year. Running was who I was but now it's something I do and I think that's both healthy and okay.
I do know that I'm not going to run again until everything stops hurting. Over the past 8 years, something has inevitably hurt just about every day: a little twinge here, a nagging pain there. My feet hurt when I get out of bed every morning and some days my hips hurt. This is the price that must be paid for competing at a high level and I have happily put up with it (hopefully with minimal complaining).
I do plan on running again. I don't think I can be quite "normal" (for me) without it. Right now I plan on not racing or doing traditional track workouts for some time and in the mean time, building up a fairly sizable base. I also plan on incorporating more strength training into my training schedule, as that has generally fallen by the way-side. Once I have some decent, non-specific training under my belt, I will be able to tune that training towards meeting some TBD goal.
I have been joking about going out to dominate the "Corporate 5k" world, but I doubt that will last long. I have competed against entire races of the weekend warrior type a couple times and I did not enjoy it. They become solo efforts against the clock, something I have never preferred, and at the end, I feel guilty for coming to a race among people who are friends and have built community with each other and laying waste to them. I have a hard time being proud of winning a 5k by two minutes, so I suspect that I won't inhabit the corporate running world for long.
Finally, I want to thank everyone who has in some way touched my life as a runner so far. To those who inspired me, supported me, pushed me, coached me, and dragged me off the track, thank you. You have been my friends, rivals, mentors, and hopefully at least one person has learned something from me, either from my words or by my example. I would like to thank each and every one of you, but that's not possible here.