This October will mark 20 years race free. Yep, I haven't touched a race in 20 years! Now I run for ME! I do however much or little running that I feel like doing. It's great and I love it. I'm a former D1 XC/Track athlete so I know what it's like training hard.
irunfastXC wrote:
Man, that's a hard question.
I've always run for the competition, even if it's not against others. I run to race & to challenge myself. If all that went away forever...I don't know.
I definitely wouldn't train, per say. At least not like I do now. I might run once in a while. I'd probably focus on other sports.
I actually can't remember my last race, but my hamstrings do remember 5 x 1 mile last night at 5:25ish pace.
People ask me what i am training for when they see me rolling intervals - i train because it's fun to push my body. I old enough that whether there is a crowd and a clock or just me and a watch, i still know the truth is the only measure of success that matters in running is your effort. Did you give it all?
As one of the earlier posters said, I think tons of people wouldn't run if there was no social media, or they weren't able to talk about it.
I don't have a problem with people sharing their running with others (though as someone over 45 it utterly baffles me why anyone would want to take a cell phone with them on a run, constantly stopping to take pictures of themselves, but each to their own). But I do think that too many (younger) people run simply because of their innate narcissism whereby they have to seek external approval or "likes" from others before they can derive enjoyment.
I'm the opposite, and expect many on here are the same. I run most days, and don't tell anyone about any of it. No strava, no log, no photos. I've been running 50-100 miles a week for about 20 years. Even been on holidays to the mountains alone for a week of running trails, and my best friends (who are non-runners) wouldn't even know about it. Guess I'm an introverted kind of guy.
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