After my days at St. Helens High, I went on to have a moderately successful college career. But I really don't believe I reached my full potential. I had one year where things clicked really well for me and I ran a 1:46 in the 800. I now look back at my college career and wonder, Why did things go so well for me that year but not the other years? I think I'm starting to figure it out.
Now that I am done with my collegiate running career, I am running much more free. I took some time and fell out of shape, then started jumping in workouts with the BYU guys from time to time, then started signing up for a few races. While I'm not running anything crazy fast right now, I am racing and competing well and my times have been much better than what I would expect them to be based on my workouts. I am still scratching my head as to how I won the 800 at the UW Invitational. In college, after my sophomore season where I ran a 1:46, I was so focused on breaking records, qualifying for big meets, earning awards, etc., that I forgot that track was a sport and that sports are supposed to be fun. I think forgetting that really hurt my performance. I wonder what I could have done had I just worked hard, competed with everything I had, and really enjoyed the experience instead of worrying about internal and external pressures. Not that I didn't enjoy my experience, but I don't know if I made the most out of it or enjoyed it as much as I might have.
Because of this, I have decided to make my 2014 not about breaking records like Nick Symmonds, but having fun and enjoying running again as a sport.
So here's my list of things I would like to do this year, in no particular order.
- Run a full 3K steeple
- Run an 800 while dribbling a basketball and see if I can go under 2:00
- Win a fun run while pushing my daughter in our jogging stroller
- Run a marathon
- Make sure I'm in good enough shape to pace Centro again in his workouts at his altitude camp
- Enjoy every run, workout, and race that I do
While the items listed are my priorities this year, you will see me in an occasional 800 or 1500 this spring. And who knows, maybe I'll win some races, qualify for USAs, or PR. But the most important thing is I will be having fun and enjoying it.
I wish Nick the best in his quest for records this year. As he is now with Brooks, I also hope he remembers, and that we all remember, to "Run Happy." If we do that, then I think 2014 will be a successful year in the running community.
