Things You Wish You Knew Before Your First Year of Post-Collegiate running

rojo wrote:

Can someone tell me how to appreciate being a hobby jogger?

You see this a lot. I have a friend that won't run anymore because he was the star at his HS. He can never run those times again. So he doesn't run at all. Clearly he ran for external reasons. He was in the newsletters, and everyone admired him. Did he even like running? Only when he was good at it. He tried a comeback but couldn't handle being slow.

I love running and the competition. I'd do anything to go back and get the experience of running at that level. Even as just a back of the pack runner at some random meet.

I'm a hobby jogger at best. My 10k will never go below 36. I'm getting old. But I'm winning sometimes in age groups and love the competition and camaraderie of like minded runners facing the same challenges of juggling work, family, and hobbies like running.

Maybe you need a new challenge? Like breaking 3:00 in the marathon over 40? Could you do that now? Surely 2:59 in the marathon isn't hobby jogger level. You still have time left to do it. Someone has run faster at age 73.

You're in a unique position. Couldn't you ask your boss for paid time to train on a quest for sub-3? The publicity from the attempt would benefit the website. It would be like work.

Lots of bitter people in this thread. Hmm. Some thoughts from someone who doesn't regret it:

1) After college, you lose a lot of advantages you had in college. In college, you had facilities access, a coach, a team, a racing season all planned out for you, a relatively free schedule, etc. After college, you need to leverage the advantages you DO have to get the most out of your running.

As a post-collegiate, you have the advantage of being able to have a completely personalized training schedule. You don't have to race when you're not ready. You can do true six-month training cycles without a bunch of useless indoor track meets in January. You aren't even stuck with a traditional 7 day cycle. Beyond this, you need to find out what particulars about YOUR situation you can take advantage of. Can you run during lunch? Can you eat breakfast or lunch at your desk at work? Is there a nice bike path you can use for tempo work? Can you get on a track? Do you have a gym at work? Etc etc. If you think hard enough there's probably some advantage you can use.

2) Get a coach unless you really know what you're doing. Which you probably don't.

3) Do the stuff you didn't do in college. Lift, do strength exercises, do more fast runs (or slow easy runs), whatever. That is where you'll see a lot of improvement. If you keep doing what you did in college, you'll get the same results. You should substantially change your training. Join a gym, it's great to have a place to do all that strength stuff you really should be doing. Also nice to have a pool or bike if you get hurt.

4)Try a new distance during your first year or two out of college; it's very hard to do well at the distances you focused on in college the first year of post collegiate running. HM and Marathon are natural choices, but the mile can be fun too if you were a 5/10 guy in college.

5) Give back to the sport and/or your community. Running is a lot more fun when you share it with other people. Focusing only on your own running is pretty selfish. Volunteer coach at a high school, or help out at road races, or a kids running club on the weekend, something like that. Giving back to your sport and to your local running community will do wonders for your enjoyment and appreciation of the sport. It will also help you when things aren't going well in your own training. Do this even to the detriment of your own training.

6) Don't train harder than you can sleep. If you're not gonna get enough sleep, trying to run huge mileage is silly. Figure out how to be more efficient with your time first. A lot of people who complain about how busy they are just aren't good at time management. Eat at work, pre-cook meals on the weekend, etc. If running is important to you, figure it out.

7) Have some fun, geez. It's okay to grab a few beers with your friends on Friday. You'll run better when you have balance in your life.

Best best on the thread.

mwhsxc wrote:

Lots of bitter people in this thread. Hmm. Some thoughts from someone who doesn't regret it:

...

Wejo wrote probably the best post/advice I've ever read, titled "Why I sucked in college." Like Wejo, if I only knew then what I know now. I did almost everything wrong, including pounding the 200s and 400s faster than race pace ALWAYS, not running enough easier miles, and totally neglecting the long, anaerobic threshhold and cruise intervals that would have given me the strength to reach much closer to my potential. Here, read Wejo's post yourself:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2006/09/wejo-speaks-why-i-sucked-in-college/

Too bad you didn't learn to run in the morning. As a working guy, running at 4:30 am has been my salvation. Running in the dark never bothered me. Hey, the only time I see the sun is on the weekends.

rojo wrote:

Can someone tell me how to appreciate being a hobby jogger?

It's really just a matter of whether or not you like running for its own sake. If you do, then being a hobby jogger comes naturally.

I've long suspected that lots of college and highly competitive runners don't really like running. They do it because they're good at it and it helps pay for school. When school is over and they're no longer "good" by whatever standard, it's no surprise they quit.

I you can't manage decent training while working a full-time job, you've got a time management problem, not a running problem. Same if you think it's unduly hurting your social life. Unless, of course, you think you need to go out drinking every night. If that's the case, you also have an alcohol problem, not a running problem. And if you're concerned with living your life in such a way as to impress strangers and casual acquaintances, try like hell to stop, because you'll never do it. Most people don't care about you and never will.

Run if you like it. Don't if you don't. But ditch the martyr complex.

27721831 wrote:

I you can't manage decent training while working a full-time job, you've got a time management problem, not a running problem. Same if you think it's unduly hurting your social life. Unless, of course, you think you need to go out drinking every night. If that's the case, you also have an alcohol problem, not a running problem. And if you're concerned with living your life in such a way as to impress strangers and casual acquaintances, try like hell to stop, because you'll never do it. Most people don't care about you and never will.

Run if you like it. Don't if you don't. But ditch the martyr complex.

If they gave out medals in this thread, you'd have just won the gold.

Taking running seriously after college doesn't mean you're trying to make the olympic trials or olympic team, some people just want to be the best they can be. You shouldn't care if people think its selfish or girls think its weird. I don't know anyone who thinks its selfish or weird

quote]ofsi wrote:

rojo wrote:

Can someone tell me how to appreciate being a hobby jogger?

It's really just a matter of whether or not you like running for its own sake. If you do, then being a hobby jogger comes naturally.

I've long suspected that lots of college and highly competitive runners don't really like running. They do it because they're good at it and it helps pay for school. When school is over and they're no longer "good" by whatever standard, it's no surprise they quit.[/quote]

I was highly competitive in college. Your suspicion is not far off in my case. I was 100% driven by the competitive aspect and the workouts that would indicate success. Distance runs were just a means to an end. Maybe 10% of distance runs I actually enjoyed and felt good. It didn't hurt that running paid for school, but it wasn't a big factor for me. I had no concept of money back then.

I'm out of school now and I only run maybe once every few weeks. I can find no motivation to run with even a minor injury when I'm only doing it for fitness and no workouts/races to gear up for. I know I'll never be as fast as I once was, simply because I'm not willing to take the time out of my social life and career to put in the rehab, weights, doubles, etc. I'm very much a realist and as good as I was, there was no upward mobility for me in running, even with a significant improvement. Top 10-15 in the US isn't worth the career sacrifice. I'll admit I'm too prideful to race at less than my best with no team aspect on the line. Perhaps that will change with time.

I respect the hell out of those people that jam it all in with no free time, but at this point in my life I value relaxation time over training. I still enjoy following the sport, so I surf LetsRun rather than run. Resolving to try to run more when I get an injury sorted out - really only for health reasons.

The thing I find funny is that I was better than some guys who are now "training for the Olympics". If you want to pursue self improvement and can get by financially, just enjoy the fact you are doing what you love. Stop lying to your family and friends about having any chance at all at making the Olympics in order to justify your career.

So far, this thread shows that your success (defined however you want it to be) as a post collegite runner has nothing to do with milage, workouts, groups or coaches, but entirely on your outlook, goals, and motivation.

It is a surprise to me how many people are surprised by that.

Assuming the goal is "to reach your potential" ...

A. Aim to peak at 30, not at 25.

B. The corollary is to have a work-life situation that is sustainable for 5+ years.

rojo wrote:

Can someone tell me how to appreciate being a hobby jogger?

Since you asked: Step one - get hurt so bad you are not sure if you will ever run again. Step two - spend four years looking at joggers on the roadside while thinking "I wish I could do that." Step three - run one mile at hobby jogger speed.

But don't take my word for it. Google Elaine Kirchen.

One advantage of being too slow of a runner to make your college D1 team (8k PR in the high 26's) is that nothing will really change once I graduate. I've never experienced the lifestyle of a college athlete so I have nothing to miss. Being slow is actually a blessing because you have no requirements to meet other than the ones you set on your own and have to be 100% self motivated.

Bumping this thread for all those finishing colleges running careers in these next few weeks.

Not looking to take you down here, but they're just making conversation regarding a shared interest. If you don't see them for 12 months, they're not going to say "hey 2:28 guy" or "hey, OT guy" when they see you a year later.

Eschew tangible goals, focus solely on the intangible.

The answers may be as disparate as everyone's own experience, so I can only relay my own here.

Ran four years in college and was usually 3-4th runner on our xc team and about the 3rd miler on the track team (both were pretty average), so not a world beater and never qualified for nationals. Ran myself into the ground in college and it took nearly two years to get my legs back and to feel good, and actually to feel good about training.

Things that helped me through. First, running wasn't number 1 anymore, whereas in college it was. My career came first, and running was something l did because I liked it and to blow off steam at the end of the day. So my life didn't center around running, it was something I fit into the day. Second, running with a group can help, but also take the time to run on your own: listen to your body and your thoughts on those runs. In a competitive college atmosphere you can easily lose that with external factors such as teammates, coaches, and sometimes unrealistic expectations (from within and from them). And third, remember that it's your show, almost no one else is going to take a whole lot of interest and they won't judge you by your won-loss record or whether you made the OTs or even a BQ.

I was in a similar situation but unlike you took the wrong angle. I instead got too serious about it, as a result. I wish I'd had the good advice/insight to put my focus more on personal (work/dating) development and let running just be an activity, rather than something I built my life around too much. I should have thrown out my copy of "Once a Runner." I wish I'd just been a solo runner and stayed away from coached groups, they came with too much personal compromise and fueled discontent. Things wound up alright, but I was lost for a long time and could have used some sage direction. This is why outside of threads like this I never look back, I'm on a good track and it does no good to dwell on mistakes.