Coffee Monster wrote:
"You should do something more useful with your time now that you graduated."
I think you should actually reflect on this... I am out of collegiate xc/track and still run and training pretty hard, but I think most people need to take some time to reflect on the sport and why they do it. I see a lot of distance guys/gals just continue training when they are done with their last outdoor meet. I think it is because most of us have been doing it for 10+ years and don't know what to do without it.
I think a few months off and really thinking about how much you want running to be part of your life is important.
I have come to the realization that training makes me happy and I really enjoy it for many reasons. I plan on attacking some prs this fall now that I am back into decent shape. I have forced myself to live a more "normal" lifestyle. Meaning, I will take a day off if visiting family, for a holiday, or if getting a run in just makes a big inconvenience for my wife and I.
Advice: have a reason and passion for doing what you do.[/quote]
Thanks for your thoughts - my parents are reasonable most of the time so I should give them more credit than my original post reflected.
I did stop training for about 6-months after graduation, but then I realized that I felt like $hit, so I started running again. I now train as much as I did in college, which is probably the source of my parents' concern. Its not hampering my career (engineer) as far as I know but is probably hurting my social life, which is zilch because I don't go out at night in order to be able train. So - for the time-being I'm searching for a 20-something that wants nothing more than a mate who knows what it takes to train 7 days/week with no potential goals in mind - other than running a good race someday.