RunRunner wrote:
A memoir about college cross that reads like Less than Zero. With the passivity of someone who realizes things are not well, but doesn't have the strength to stop it. Totally awesome read.
Ugh. Comparing someone's writing to Bret Ellis' is an insult, not a compliment.
Ugh. Comparing someone's writing to Bret Ellis' is an insult, not a compliment.[/quote]
Yeah I hear ya. But sadly, not all of us have the intellect to enjoy Steig Larsson.
Well done, RunRunner. And I agree with your description of the writer's (bleak, detached) style.
Brett Easton Ellis is one of my favorite writers, and Steig L. well, I have no idea why he sold so many books.
coachy coach wrote:
I need my head examined to be sure. Every problem that comes up with the women's team makes me wonder if it's my fault.
We have a top 10 team (in one of the divisions, don't want to reveal too much for fear of outing my women) and we lost one-third of our women's team last fall to various issues.
At the same time, the guys actually gained runners, with walk-ons and transfers in at the semester.
Guys all love each other and have fun. And they dream and work hard to get better. They love running and the sport and thrive on competition.
Women form cliques of 2s and 3s and fear getting worse. They talk about the past a lot. Women also get twice as much attention and its not nearly enough. They seem to find no joy in their success.
I could go on, but it would embarrass my ladies.
I think it all depends on the mindset of the team. I ran on a competitive college team that loved to compete and didn't have cliques (well not in xc, track was a different story). However, after a group of senior left, the mindset of the team changed to be a lot less competitive and a lot less cohesive. I think the key to a solid team is having a critical number of fast females with good leadership skills. There's a lot of fast runners who don't know how to lead. Coaches often mistake talent for leadership.
RunRunner wrote:
Ugh. Comparing someone's writing to Bret Ellis' is an insult, not a compliment.
Yeah I hear ya. But sadly, not all of us have the intellect to enjoy Steig Larsson.[/quote]
That guy sucks too!
can't be BC. You take the T into the city, not a Bus.
observations wrote:
can't be BC. You take the T into the city, not a Bus.
but she could be using the bus vs the T to throw off everyone from thinking it's BC.
Shower time wrote:
http://youtu.be/4r7wHMg5YjgEnjoy
Ive seen that video before, but that narration was the funnies thing ive heard all day. Thanks :)
No new post, but bump anyway.
Yes, I have also been waiting. She writes so beautifully, you really feel like you are going through the experience with her. Most of us can relate to the ups and down of late teens and understand the pressure and disappointments of that time in life. We can reflect and give an opinion on what she should do but also realize that there is a lack of life experience at that age that doesn't give the options that might seem logical. I am really shocked that she had the guts to make the appointment with the athletic director, most girls in that situation would not. There are so many things that she risks by taking this step, I can't wait to see how the athletic director reacts. Will it be surprise and action or will he react like the coach and not want to hear about it?
eojtlc wrote:
No new post, but bump anyway.
The recent post about about fainting brought some questions to mind. I am aware of the female athlete triad, a combination of disordered eating, irregular menstrual periods and weak bones, but what would've brought about the fainting? Is it a presussor to anemia?
It's hard to say. Fainting is a symptom of iron-deficient anemia, but she may have fainted from the stress of filling out the questionaire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasovagal_response), low blood sugar, or dehydration.
Jess wrote:
It's hard to say. Fainting is a symptom of iron-deficient anemia, but she may have fainted from the stress of filling out the questionaire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasovagal_response), low blood sugar, or dehydration.
I agree that it was stress induced. Her character is overwhelmed by life, and the odd occurrences of the pimp and Scientologist put her over the edge.
As a runner who has/had an eating disorder (severe calorie restriction), I can tell you fainting or experiencing fainting-like symptoms was pretty common. I would say most of the time for me it was just really low blood-sugar as a result of running 75+mpw and eating less than 1000cals/day. There would be times where I would stand up and immediately feel the onset of dizzyness, nausea, and tunnel-vision. It is wierd to say now, but it almost became like a high, a high indicating that I was doing the right thing in that I had restricted a sufficient amount of calories. Over the summer when I forced myself to eat less than 1000cals/day I only legitimately fainted 3-4 times, but got the feeling of coming "close to fainting" at least 3 or 4 times a week. I never told anyone and when the symptoms did happen, I would turn from anyone that was around and shut my eyes for about minute until the overwhelming sensation went away. The one time I did faint was at work (grocery store) stocking shelves and a customer freaked out. They gave me some orange juice and I was fine.
I think she wrote this journal at the time that it happened.
waiting for the next post wrote:
I am really shocked that she had the guts to make the appointment with the athletic director, most girls in that situation would not. There are so many things that she risks by taking this step, I can't wait to see how the athletic director reacts. Will it be surprise and action or will he react like the coach and not want to hear about it?
He will react like the coach and probably worse.
Just break up the whole HS/college system. Its way too competitive, putting results ahead of children's health.
If a kid shows potential they should be work with professional coaches, with a professional support network.
They should not be left to the vagaries of an amateur wannabee, who cares nothing about the kids health, just his or her own ego.
He will react like the coach and probably worse.[/quote]
If he does it will just show her again that she has no one to turn to. If this one brave step slaps her in the face one more time, where will she go what will she do. I think that is part of this story, the hopelessness suffered by female athletes stuck in a possition they can't control or fix and can't see a healthy way out.
See the Day wrote:
Just break up the whole HS/college system. Its way too competitive, putting results ahead of children's health.
If a kid shows potential they should be work with professional coaches, with a professional support network.
They should not be left to the vagaries of an amateur wannabee, who cares nothing about the kids health, just his or her own ego.
Hahaha. [sarcasm] Yeah, I say we should remove all clocks from HS races and give blue ribbons to all participants. It's too competitive otherwise and could hurt kids' feelings. It's all for the coaches anyway. No kid/young adult ever derived a sense of self-satisfaction from training hard and winning races. [/sarcasm]
I wonder where her support network is. Her parents don't seem to be a source but what about non running friends/classmates? She strikes me as a loner.