GOALS

The warm weather we've been having (I've been wearing shorts in February) has made me more focused on my running. Running in all this crazy weather helped me finish a goals project for my psychology class. One of my goals had to do with running and although I went a bit over the top, I thought it was pretty good so I'd like to share it.

My Personal Goal

Sometimes I run because of a track. It’s a blue track, one where athletes from all over the world run at in April and where Iowa’s best runners compete at in May, but nevertheless it’s still a track. But through the winter, running through cold, snow, wind, and ice, the idea of running on the track at Drake University in Des Moines keeps me going. I’ll run an extra mile, do another lap, or run up that hill again for the chance to run a few laps around Drake’s track. Because I know it will be worth it.

I know this because I have run there before. When I was in the area during September 2007, I ran a 1500 by myself. While running those laps in the empty stadium with my feet slapping against the blue, I wanted to run there again. I wanted to race there with the stands full of people and other girls beside me. I thought this was a long off dream, maybe something I could accomplish my senior year. Or that maybe it would just remain a dream, something I would always wish I had achieved.

Yet eight months later I was there. I was realizing my dream. I had qualified for the state track meet with my 4x800 team, which we discovered after an agonizing wait. My race was on the first day of the meet, so I first had to take my A.P. World test. When driving to Des Moines, I prepared myself for this monumental event. The circumstances surrounding my race weren’t the best because not only was I incredibly nervous, but I had lost most of my voice, had a bad cough, and was aware of the warm weather. But when I arrived, having not even yet run, but only looked at that beautiful blue track and the crowds of people in the stands, I knew I had made it. As I ran my leg of the 4x800, I looked at the people, heard the cheers, glanced at the famous track, and realized how many great runners had taken these very same steps before me. I had made my dream come true in about two and a half minutes. And now I want to do it again.

In May of 2009, I want to be running around that oval again. I want to be running faster, be better prepared, and healthier than I was in that memorable race. I want to run at Drake in the state meet. Of course, by saying this, it won’t automatically come true. I have to depend on my teammates to do their best and help me get there. If I don’t qualify for an individual race, than it will be my teammates who assist me in attaining my goal. Not only will I have to encourage myself, I have to encourage them. We will have to work together in practice and meets to be able to run at the best meet of all.

Runners, specifically female runners, acquire the most injuries of any sport. They can happen by running too much, not enough, or even the right amount. When training by myself, I have to learn how to stop before doing too much so I am in the right shape in May. Running all the time isn’t good for my body so I will need to take breaks, no matter how many miles I have run. I’ll have to depend on my coach during the season to make sure his workouts don’t give me injuries. I have to take some responsibility also, by communicating to my coach about my running. I am still the one who needs to listen to my body and take breaks however.

Having said this, the only thing that can really stop me from getting to the state track meet is me. I am voice inside myself that makes excuses and takes unnecessary breaks. But I am also that same voice that has the ability to make me run miles after miles no matter what the weather or how I feel. I am the one who will receive the rewards so I am the one who has to work to obtain them.

To make it to the state meet, I’ve had to start training much earlier. I started running in November for the races in May. None of this has been easy. Because of the lack of daylight, I have to run right after school, which means I have to be home right after school. If I miss a run, then I have to trade in my rest day to make sure I get enough miles in. I don’t always get enough miles in, so I am not allowing for my training to be at the highest level. This might hurt my performance when I need to do my best. I also have to fit my homework in somehow so that leaves less time for friends or fun things.

Most of my time is taken up with hard work and it makes me feel like I’m constantly in training. In order for my training to be at the highest level, this is necessary. For example, lunch has to consist of healthy and filling meals so I don’t get hungry or sick during my run. That means no pizza, hot dogs, chips, or fries, while eating more of fruits and vegetables. I have had to widen my eating palate and as a result, the food I have given up no longer seems as appetizing.

This goal is very important in my running right now. Running at Drake is symbolic of the fact that you are good at running. That you have made it, you have achieved what thousands of others have wanted to do. It acknowledges that you have sacrificed so much in order to be at this spot and are willing to do it everyday with no recognition. Running on that breathtaking blue track was one of the most amazing events in my life. Just thinking of it, knowing that I have run at Drake Stadium where Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson, Jesse Owens, Alan Webb, and many other great runners have also run, it gives you the greatest feeling. One that I am willing to work at to feel again.