Ca$hclay wrote:
Team got cut that summer and we lost all funding due to gender equity BS. I was too far along to transfer and the school was tops academically.
That’s a tragedy, I am sorry to hear that.
Ca$hclay wrote:
Team got cut that summer and we lost all funding due to gender equity BS. I was too far along to transfer and the school was tops academically.
That’s a tragedy, I am sorry to hear that.
I was 27, had kept it going pretty good post college, ran a bunch of my pr's post college. I never really ran well in longer races though. I had moved to a new (smaller) city with a local running group that mainly focused on marathons and stuff. I would join them for long runs on the weekend but when track season rolled around I was hitting the track alone a lot and trying to grind through tough workouts in the wee hours of the morning.
I was working long hours to boot an eventually it just all got old. I ran semi decent that spring with a few sub 4 1500's in local college races (my pr at the time was 3;54). I got into one decent race that I had built up for hoping to pr but ended up fading on the last lap to a 3;57. The next summer/fall I put in higher mileage than I ever had with the hopes of PRing in the mile indoors. I set a goal to run 4:12 or possibly under. First race that season was a 3k that went very poorly. I never ran particularly well in the 3k so I shrugged it off as a rust buster. I drove 3hrs to that meet and I just remember seeing all the college kids and feeling like I was totally out of place - alone just hanging out in the stands waiting for my race.
3 weeks later I got in a mile race on a banked track. Similar feeling in that I drove a ways to the meet and just meandered about alone before the race. First 800 was like 2;07ish and then I absolutely sh!t the bed and came home in like 2;20. I put on my trainers to go cool down, but after a lap around the parking lot I just decided to get in my car and drive home. Two years later and I still haven't raced since. I get out for 4-6mi a few days a wk but no workouts or hard efforts. I don't wear a watch anymore.. Don't really miss it at all tbh.
Pretty much the same as same here!
Boston Marathon. Was running pretty well at 36 (for me), hitting 2:34/2:36/2:37. Qualified for Boston, but in between my achilles went to Hell. Got a couple cortisone shots, and made it to Boston to run with my brother. Ended up running just shy of 2:52 in utter agony. Wished I'd never done it. Couldn't run for a couple years. 20 years later I can run pain free now, but I really regret that last race.
I don't think I'll ever quit, so it's interesting to read all these stories.
I moved to a very small town (~20,000) a few years ago. I run reasonably seriously (4 flat mile, 14:15 5km), so there isn't anyone for a few hundred miles that I can even do easy runs with. What I learnt is that I don't love this sport for the social aspect or the competition, but because I simply love to run, and want to improve myself. I average about 100 miles per week, and never have any trouble motivation wise getting out the door at 5am. I'm also lucky in that I've never really had an injury.
I think it's nice to see people making the call about what makes them happy, and sometimes that's running, and sometimes that's not. Just thought I'd add my 2 cents as a Lifer to remind anyone else you can be early 30s, self coached and train alone and still enjoy putting one foot in front of the other. It doesn't have to end at college.
Last race was a road 5K. I was probably 30th to cross the line. It was bad as my times were ways off my PR. I was 35 and hitting splits in training were getting more and more difficult. My training partner who was 28(whom I used to smoke a lot) was getting the best of me. I was getting old.
Last good race was also a road 5K. Won it by about a minute. I was 34. My decline was quick and life changing.
I stopped seriously competing b/c of a string of injuries, but my last real race was a memorable one. Final race of the season in Belgium B heat, I thought I had popped a good time b/c finished second or third out of a field of about 20, but time was within a second of my PR. There were thousands of fans in the stands and had a beer track side after the race with my buddies.
I went out not knowing that I would never race on the track again and without the bitterness and disappointment that so many leave the sport.
Ran a solid but not extraordinary race in outdoor conference 1500m to place a little above my ranking. Team won the title but would have still won without my points. No regrets just becoming a jogger after college.