Anyone NOT miss being a collegiate runner?

You have issues. He did not say anyhting bad about running or any other profession.

^ shut up you must be old. Everybody who's young knows this type of guy. They're a dime a dozen and usually a team cancer.

thecontemplation wrote:

Yeah. Like the saying goes, "A comedian never tells jokes when he isn't working." You get to a certain point in running and it is strictly business, not pleasure.

This saying is totally untrue.

Who do you think comedians test their material on?

Their friends, their real friends.

thenegotiator wrote:

I honestly don't miss it one bit. I enjoyed it while I was doing it, but I definitely don't miss it. Does anyone else share these feelings?

It is an interesting topic.

I miss it daily. The only thing I'd change, is I wish I could go back with today's knowledge, and be coached by today's coach.

Ultimately I think you either truly enjoy running...or you don't.

As much as enjoyed running in college, some of my most enjoyable runs were solo 20 milers out in nature. Testing one's own will.

you ain't high class wrote:

^ shut up you must be old. Everybody who's young knows this type of guy. They're a dime a dozen and usually a team cancer.

The guy posing under the name "you ain't high class" has some serious issues.

Nope!! I do not miss it because I graduated about 15 years ago and moved on. I missed it most the first year out. I had a hard time training on my own and without a coach/team/solid goals. Then, I started to enjoy exactly that part of it. No plan, no coach telling you how to feel after a race, being able to choose my own races, running whatever I felt like day to day.

Then, I started running with small groups and started enjoying running even more. Now, I'm in a competitive club and get more out of running than I ever have. At the same time, I am proud as heck of my years as a d1 runner and never regret one second of that. I have great memories that will always stay with me, but I do not miss it.

I Can Relate...Kinda? wrote:

I didn't run in college. But, here's the closest I can relate: I used to be way into cycling. All I thought about was cycling. I thought the coolest thing in the world would be a job at a bike shop. As soon as I spent my days wrenching bicycling, I quickly learned to dislike cycling. I stopped reading magazines about cycling. I stopped watching videos about cycling. I stopped thinking about cycling. I nearly stopped riding. The last thing I wanted to do was ANYTHING with bicycles because I knew I was going have to go to the bike shop & spend 8 hours working on bicycles. As soon as I quit the bike shop (I graduated college.), I fell in love with cycling again! Go figure!?!

the moral of the story is...working on bikes sucks.

let it go, dude wrote:

"Letsrun keeps me sane."

-you must really be bad off.

I'm not trying to hang on to any college running dream through letsrun or anything as your name implies. I just mean it gives me something to do now that I can't run or even work. After 2 weeks in a hospital and 3 more in a wheelchair there isn't much to do but sit around on the internet.

I miss running for my first coach but after my redshirt sophomore year he retired and we got a new coach and well he was a jerk and an elitist, I do not miss one second of the time I was forced to spend with him.

I miss being a collegiate athlete somewhat, but I don't miss being a professional athlete. The NCAA stuff was funner, especially with a team. Individual running isn't nearly as fun.

Like most posters I miss parts of it (the friends, the travel, the competition etc.) Yeah parts weren't fun but i wouldn't trade the experience for the world. I'm not sure how long you have been out of college but if it has only been a couple of years or less give it some time. The great thing about it is that the father in time you are from the day to day pain etc. the less you remember the bad parts and the greater the good parts seem.

i miss it, even some of the sucky parts

I miss hooking up with ladies from the girls' team the most.

Charming Charlie wrote:

thecontemplation wrote:

Yeah. Like the saying goes, "A comedian never tells jokes when he isn't working." You get to a certain point in running and it is strictly business, not pleasure.

I completely agree.

I thought that when I would be done with DI track I would get excited about running whatever road races I would want. I was wrong. Its been 5 months and I can't get myself to run more than 40 miles a week. I've been programed to run my ass off for certain meets. I'm not sure if its the fact that I just don't want to do anything because I don't want to or if its the fact that I'm lazy now. We'll see when the weather starts to cool down.

I do find it funny that this thread is attracting all of the non-college wannabe runners.

As if being a D1 runner give you ANY credence at all...HA! The opposite it true!

Man, It's really a big issue with me that i quit running after one year at a D1. I didn't make the team but I improved drastically. Immaturity, personal problems and bad choices led to me quitting. I really didn't regret it until years later when I realized how much I truly loved running and it was essential to my happiness and self esteem. The grief is subsiding and I continue to run but I think of the progress I could have made and the bonds with team mates and the thrill of high level competition. Those are experiences that last a life time. It's about being young and being the best you can be. I wish I had those memories rather than all the beer and frat parties and lousy dates. You have got to mentally tough at a relatively young age to make it through the drudgery sometimes poor coaching and mind numbing training. If this sounds like a cheer leading call out to you youngsters out there then so be it. An unrealized dream is the saddest thing in the world.

I do and I don't. By that I mean, I really enjoyed it while I was doing it, but if I magically had 4 more years eligibility, I wouldn't go and do another degree and go run again.

5 years were great, I made friends that I'm sure will be lifelong, and there was no greater feeling than setting a PR, winning a race, or doing a hard 15 miler on the dirt roads on a sunny sunday afternoon with the team. Towards the end though, I started to question why I was busting my ass 3 to 4 hours a day, day in and day out on something that started to seem trivial in the grand scope of things. I miss being young and enthusiastic about racing, I guess.

These days, i run 25 miles a week, do some pushups and sit ups and that's it. Running is now something I look forward to to destress after work and keep the pounds off.

no one should ever be forced to do anything they do not like. let me just preface this by saying i totally and completely miss my college running days. but i did not run for a scholarship, i did not run to win nationals (for myself or my school), hell i did not run because i was any good. i ran because i truly love the sport and because of that i chose a small d3 liberal arts school to run at. at times it sucked (i.e. freshman year breaking my foot 2 miles into a race, then finishing with the broke foot. which kept me out the rest of the year). at times it was rough with a team full of different personalities. but if i had the option right now of going back in time to do it all over again, i would. without even thinking about it. my four years of xc and track in college were some of the best i have ever had. what i honestly miss the most is the training. the whacky and stupid shit we did while on runs. the jokes. the stories. the handshakes. the pain. it was all worth it. it will always remain a special part of my life.

[quote]Charming Charlie wrote:

I thought that when I would be done with DI track I would get excited about running whatever road races I would want. I was wrong. Its been 5 months and I can't get myself to run more than 40 miles a week. ..."

Yeah, you quickly realize that most road races are a joke. I mean where's the glory in beating 40 yr old dudes and housewives?

College comp is where it's at and that's where you race your peers. I miss it greatly and I'm an old washed up runner. If you dont miss it, you must be right out of school.

I'm 48 yrs old and make a nice living. I would be an astronomical sum of money to be able to go back and be on a team with all my good friends, and train and compete with them again. More than anything would be to have that body that was like a well oiled machine.