My Love/Hate Relationship With Track

Well, it's that time of year again...for track training.

Now, let's get one thing straight, right up front: I hate running but love being in shape. (I also love winning, but that is hardly a big enough reason to run track.)

My track career began freshman year. I was thrilled to be trying a new sport, especially one that involved the only aspect of other sports that I was any good at: running. I soon discovered, however, that running against other people that actually trained to run was a lot more stressful and painful than I had expected. While, in basketball, I could sometimes manage to outsprint other players on fast breaks and, in soccer, I could keep up enough endurance to make a decent mid-fielder, but track was different. I had to push myself to run much faster and much longer than I was used to in order to do well against other competitors in a race.

One thing I did not learn freshman year...well, actually, I did learn it, but chose to ignore it, (much to my detriment) was that, to be a good runner, you actually have to work hard. Really hard..and not just at the meets themselves but every single day of the season. Like I said, I chose to ignore that fact all through freshman year, and my final meet had me huffing and puffing (and crying, my mother likes to teasingly remind me) as I desperately scraped a 6th place ribbon in the 800m.

The pain and shame of that last race were probably the sole reason I decided to quit track. Well....at least, for the next two years, but, as people (particularly guys who are annoyed with my persistant efforts to beat them in one thing or another) like to point out, I am extremely competitive. In fact, I'm not sure it's healthy to be as competitive as I am, but anyway, as soon as my best friend Laura beat my PR (personal record) in the 800, I had to give track another try.

So, senior year had me back on the track, this time training like a madwoman to beat the new Dominion Academy 800m record. I was terrified of the thought that Laura might beat me in a race and I relentlessly trained, even traveling down to Kentucky with Laura for a week of two-a-day training sessions and personal instruction from her aunts who had both gone to state in track.

Long story short, I worked pretty hard last season and really did reap the rewards. I was stronger, faster, and healthier than ever before.....But still, every meet had me stressing about the next race and, whether or not my nerves helped me race well, they certainly made me remember why I quit track. I guess I'm just bi-polar when it comes to track. I can't seem to decide if I love it or hate it, whether the benefits outweigh the sacrifice..

But, here I am, beginning my training for the track season at Franciscan. Yes, I'm running intercollegiate track. My mother thinks I've lost my mind. Maybe I have. I know that I'm going to have to train harder than last season in order to even get personal records, let alone prove competition enough to place well, but something in me won't let the sport go. God has given me a small measure of talent but a large amount of determination. What can I do but give my best to His glory?

.....and really, this whole post was a big stalling tactic because I don't want to go outside and run in the rain.

..but it's still raining.

..so I better get out and run.

But at least maybe you all understand my track complex now.