In denial about the death of my college running career

You are correct on both counts. It will never be the same, but it can work out. You should look to hook up with some runners in your area, even if it is only for a couple of workouts per week.

What you get out of it is completely up to you now. You determine if you will continue to run for fun or still try to be competitive.

Run the marathon. Follow in the footsteps of Wesley Korir who just won the LA marathon. Maybe not 2:08 but 2:19 is probably in your reach

Yeah, it's a hard emotional transfer from collegiate to "fun" running (me: sprinter/hurdler). I got mine delayed a year by volunteer coaching while I was in grad school. I don't know where you're located, but if you have the time and interest, volunteer coaching twice a week can be very interesting (either on a college or high school level if possible). It's a way to keep being involved with meets but seeing it from another perspective.

Right now, my main motivation for running is by running at least one race a month (5Ks for me since they are so abundant around here). I know people who have joined local running clubs where there are official workouts and meets planned on the calendar.

I also had friend who did training to become a meet official, and he earned extra money by officiating track meets on the weekends.

Hope this helps!

Welcome to the club. Nothing I can say will prepare you for the inevitable decline in your fitness. It sucks. Eventually you will learn to focus on more important things, like making a difference in people's lives somehow. But if you're anything like me, you'll always feel a little stir crazy because you haven't gotten in a 10-miler. Like the walls are closing in on you. My advice is to keep running, just for your sanity, no matter how slow you become race-wise. Oh, and keep it on the 'crete.

It will NEVER be the same. At no point will you have a coach at your disposal, team mates to train with, and a fat wad of time to devote to the pursuit of running faster. but mainly you're losing the #1 advantage- youth.

don't stop running, go run a fast marathon, don't be like most of us you don't even try a marathon until we are already 25 lbs over weight and 10 past our prime.

I wish I would have trained for and ran a good marathon when I was 23, instead my first was at age 37.

Take a look at the rankings for Outdoor USATF's ...

There are not only Division 1 athletes on that list, but also previous Division 3 athletes as well. Like others have said on this board - you determine where you are going to take your running career. It doesn't end with your last year of NCAA eligibility. Many of my teammates now are blowing away their PRs from college and have reached a whole new level with their training. It's not going to be easy the first year or two trying to adjust to working 8 hours a day or whatever your new schedule will be. But if you want to progress as a runner you still can. Road races are a completely different scene and can be incredibly motivating and exciting. I miss having my college teammates around and it's definitely not easy training on my own, but I'm really happy that I toughed it out and have found a steady training routine. Don't panic...you will find out what you want to do. Just take a little time off and come back slowly. One of the best ways to stay motivated is to pick a long term goal/race and work towards that. Hang up pictures/times/goals on your wall at home to help keep you focused. Good luck!

Its very hard at first - my transition was made even harder by the fact that I got injured and couldnt run for about a year after graduated. All I can say is that, yes, you will probably miss it a LOT if you're anything like me. In a small way, it's a mourning process because, as ohters have said, you'll never have that environment again. After a while you get used to it though, and now I actually enjoy only running 30mpw and takin ga day off when i feel like it. Godd luck man, that first year out of college can be a rocky one.

How old are you?

D1 5ker wrote:

So it's over. My college running career is over and I don't even know what to think. I have a new job, and I'm going to continue running and racing competitively, but right now it seems like it will never be the same. I'm sure it will all work out and running will be just as fun, but right now I'm just plain sad that it's over.

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I am sure you can find another group of guys who will shower with you each day. I always find the guys who miss team running the most seem to have enjoyed that part of the camaraderie the most (and I am not joking or calling you gay. Be honest, was showering with your teammates one of the best parts of being on the team for you, and is that why you are so sad, because you can't do that anymore? Hang out at the Y, grab a shower, and starting talking to the weirdos next to you. It will be like old times)

German Muenster wrote:

Hang out at the Y, grab a shower, and starting talking to the weirdos next to you. It will be like old times)

Like this?

You have to decide how badly you want to train and compete and at WHAT level once you are out of school and have a job. Do you want to run 80 mpw, do intervals and a long run on the weekend and try to improve your prs on the track next year? Or be a 'neighborhood-your-city' top road runner? Or just run 3-5 miles, 3-5 times a week for fun and run some road races at 6 minute pace with the other weekend warriors? Only YOU can answer these questions; but remember: the clock is ticking on your 'pr years' window...you got about 5-6 years left for prs, if that is your goal.

Thanks for all the inspiration guys...keep it coming...I'm definitely gonna check out some of the standards for the 10k and see if I can shoot for that.

It will definitely be interesting trying to up/maintain my mileage and stay injury free while working!

I too just finished college...Kind of sick of running at the moment. Realized i'm never going to run 1.47 for 800. Spent 3 years hovering around 1.49. Did a season of high milage, medium milage and a season of more quality...Just didn't have the 400 speed or endurance to ever be good!

Looking to take up something else now...I spent a lot of time and energy pursuing running...

I still think i'll do a workout on the track once a week...maybe some 200s just for fun!

sounds good and easy to say now but you will not do it or if you do it won't last very long.

Try to cross train maybe a mountain bike Its a very lonely road...unless you have time to run with a college team once in a while....but it's time to get a job and depending on your job sometimes you will not even have time to run or workout.

give up the game wrote:

I too just finished college...Kind of sick of running at the moment. Realized i'm never going to run 1.47 for 800. Spent 3 years hovering around 1.49.

Forget the 800, you can become an elite 1500/5K runner with 1:49 800 speed.

except i can't break 3.57 in the 1500m...even after running cross for 3 seasons and doing miles...Wasn't like i was doing the wrong training either- my coach had run 3.36

keep on running. if you've still got the love and passion for it, don't let up. You've potentially got some of the best running years in front of you. Its tough and sad in a way to never have that camaraderie and organization of a team but it can also be a new exciting time to be able to run what you want, when you want, on your own terms. A chance to figure things out on your own and hopefully continue to grow and improve as a runner. I went immediately from undergrad to 4 years of professional/grad school. After undergrad graduation I was depressed about not having a team to run with anymore and I figured my life as a runner was pretty much over. After a semester of turning into a slogger and getting fat, got inspired and hit the trails/roads. I found it was actually enjoyable and inspiring to figure out my own workouts and plan my own schedule. Also ended up meeting up with some good runners, much better then me(ok, i was a d3 runner who was more effort then talent)and making new friends at the local races and on the trails. Actually improved 10k times from college and experimented with marathons. Very enjoyable time from a running perspective. Good luck to you.

holy christ you f***ing pussy. be happy you can run at all.