Taking Time Off Between Seasons

Now that my cross country season is officially over, I have a few months until track season will begin. What do I do during this time in between? Other than go absolutely crazy, I take some time off. According to this article from Runner's World, some well-timed layoffs from running are needed. 

Runners will always have different opinions about how long you should take time off from running in between seasons. Some people opt for two weeks, some two days. It all really depends on your body and what you know will help it rather than hurt it. For me personally, I'm a very injury prone runner. If I take too long off from running my body goes into a kind of hibernation mode and becomes especially vulnerable to injury. I've learned the best method of time off for me is about two weeks of running every other day. Nothing crazy, maybe 2 or 3 miles a day, at a nice slow pace. This gives my body enough time to recover from the season but also doesn't set me back into the injury zone. 

When the two weeks are up, I get back to it. I slowly build my mileage back up, because again, I'm injury prone. I can't go blast a 50 mile week after a 10 mile week. Some people can do that and God bless 'em, but I am unfortunately not part of that percentage. 

For the rest of the semester, I can almost become a normal student! I no longer have to be at practice at 6:00 a.m., which means I can stay up a little bit later than usual to focus on some schoolwork. This also allows me to go for more evening runs, which I absolutely love doing in December around Tampa because everyone's Christmas lights are up. 

I'm excited because for the first time in a few years, I'm not injured during my off season which means I can actually train! I'm looking forward to putting in work over the next few months and getting ready for my final track season. 

My Team Is My Family

To those people who do not run cross country, they may wonder how it can possibly be a team sport. One person wins the race and that's it. To those of us that run cross country, we know it is way more than that.

I like the way this blog post by a University of Cincinnati runner explains it: you never know what your team will be like before you meet them, but they end up being your second family. I couldn't agree more with this. All of my best friends are people I met through running, whether in high school or college. 

It makes sense, of course. I think about the countless hours I spend with my team and it almost seems inevitable that we all grow so close. We all go through everything together, every workout, race, bus ride, meeting, everything. Everyone understands because we all go through the same things. It's a bond that forms.

 I've always said that runners are the most genuine people, and that contributes as well to forming those tight-knit friendships. To be a runner, you have to be dedicated. My coach always says you can't fake distance running. I definitely think that transfers over to other aspects of life as well. I know when I meet a new teammate, or even just a fellow runner, they are a dedicated individual who doesn't slack off. 

I could go deeper into analyzing the relationships runners form, but what it really comes down to is that running has brought me together with some amazing people. I'm blessed that we all decided to pursue cross country, and that it has brought us together and formed friendship and family that will continue far beyond our running careers. 

Preparing for Post-Grad Life

For a good chunk of my life, I've identified as a runner. It's not what I've done but it's who I've become; I am a runner. And as long as I've been a student and a runner, I was...wait for it...a student athlete. For 8 years of my life that was how I was classified. Going with the old school stereotypes, I am considered a jock. 

I graduate from college in May and for the first time in my life, I won't be a student and I won't be an athlete, two very critical parts of my current identity. Although I've known that inevitable day will come, as it draws closer I can't help but get anxious thinking about being stripped of my identity. An article on ESPN states that of the roughly 460,000 athletes in the NCAA, fewer than 2 percent will go pro. "The other 98 percent are left to their own devices to figure out what is next, which can be a daunting reality for athletes who have spent their entire lives operating within a very regimented schedule dedicated to their sport." 

Daunting it is. After years of saying, "I'm a runner", "'I'm an athlete", and placing my sport and my schoolwork on the top of my priorities, that will all shift come May. Of course I will continue to run, but it will be at my own leisure. While in school I was able to miss class for athletics, that will not be the case at a big girl job where I'll just say to my boss, "Hey sorry can't make into work Friday, I have a race." 

It may sound like I'm being whiny, and I just need to suck it up and deal with being a normal person. But it's not the same as throwing away an article of clothing because of a hole or a stain. It's closing a very important, detailed chapter of my life that I put all my time and energy into for 8 years. So, as much as I'd love to go on to be a part of that 2 percent and become a professional runner, instead I'll enjoy my last few months of being Kayla, the student athlete. I'm not quite ready to meet normal adult Kayla yet.