Who cares about toughness these days?
It's all about being attractive, hot and sexy. Especially with Tinder and online dating these days, Cheese Louise!
I was one of the toughest athletes on my campus because even though I wasn't on the D1 team, (we were mid-conference rankings anyway), I still got called smack by underclassmen because I didn't have bulky arm muscles.
I loved running, getting faster, and I loved shaving my legs and showing it off. It was an obsession to have smooth, lean, and bulked thighs. And I was obsessed with wearing split shorts and short shorts. However that dedication to running didn't do anything for me since I wasn't running D1, and I didn't run with the NIRCA club.
Think of it this way: You run so much and dedicate yourself to long-distance, you end up as a 115 pound freak. Your BMI is in the 18-19 range. Who are you going to impress on Tinder? Are you even going to go out on any dates?
Before I took up running, I was 165 pounds and I used to go out on dates almost twice a month. Then I took up running and reached about 110 pounds. I was anemically healthy.
Only in the running world should you care about getting spiked and letting your team down. To other people, who gives a shiet! No one cares about running once you get into the real world.
However, if you're trying to go D1, you need to build your base and have memories to make you stronger as a runner.
No matter what though, girls will go for the guys who look like HOES. You'll see these athlete guy hoes when you're in college. They mostly care about weight lifting and not about endurance training or training of their mind. You want to enjoy college life too.
Let me put it this way: You train so much that you become called a legend. I was infamous throughout my college campus. One time, someone called the campus police on me because I was causing a public disturbance. But they let me go since they knew who I was - they saw me running on the local highway and knew I was training for a marathon. Who cares.
Work on making yourself look strong and go to the gym. At the same time, make your mentality strong too. Also, don't become a slacker when it comes to endurance training. You must not be lazy if you want to become an excellent athlete.
You should not care what guys think. You should care what girls think because that's who you want to impress. It's a cutthroat world for dating when you get what I mean.
FML