Unfortunately, you don't necessarily get to keep that runner's body after you finish your high school cross country career. You probably won't always have the ability to effortlessly go for a nine-mile run, either. And you might not keep that killer lung capacity. But even if the physical side-effects of long distance running fade over time, there are lessons to take from it that will stick with you long after you grow out of your spiked racing flats. And you will come to find that these lessons apply to more than just the sport itself; the lessons you learn from running can, and should, be applied to your daily life.
1. As runners, we truly know what it feels like to push our bodies to the limit. That last stretch of the 5k, those 100 meters that can make or break any good race. We all know what it's like to sprint our hearts out after already keeping up a competitive pace for the first three miles. We know what it's like to cross the finish line and then immediately collapse into the dirt, gasping to fill our spent lungs. We know what it's like to really give something everything we have, and because of that, we know the difference between giving our absolute best and withholding crucial energy. We know the difference between giving everything we have and not. In your life, there will be so many instances when you think you have given all that you have to give. But, more likely than not, you still have a little energy on reserve. Don't cap your own potential. Don't keep yourself from realizing the true extent of what you can accomplish. Make the conscious decision to give your 100 percent in everything that you do. Because you know the difference between giving 90, 95, and even 99.99 percent, and giving your all.
2. All runners know the importance of motivation. Sure, you may have a natural gift for running, but without motivation, you won't progress. You'll stop at four miles on your practice run instead of pushing yourself and going for six. You'll skip out on hill repeats to go home and watch TV. You'll cheat yourself out of improvement and ultimately won't be able to accomplish all that you potentially could. This is because success is half ability, half motivation. And while the absence of motivation will undoubtedly hinder your ability to accomplish your aspirations, if you always strive to keep motivated, you'll find that there isn't much left in the world that is still out of reach.
3. What you get out of running is a direct reflection of what you put in. You can't regularly skip workouts and then expect to get a new personal record at each meet. Life is the same. You can't put forth no effort and then expect success to just rise out of the abyss and slap you in the face. You have to put in the time and effort necessary in order to succeed. You need to be passionate about what you do, and you can't ever take the easy way out. Your work has to be genuine, and your heart always has to stay firmly in the right place. You can't cheat, lie, and fake your way to a meaningful existence, and you can't just give up when things get hard. If you want to get the most out of your life, you have to put in just as much. it's as simple as that.
Yeah, I would kill to get my high school cross country body back, especially now that I'm a junior in college and I might as well be majoring in pizza. But just because I threw out my old running shoes years ago doesn't mean I had to trash the invaluable lessons I learned. I guess it just would have been nice to get a glimpse of the bigger picture when I was sweating my ass off running uphill repeats on my birthday, but whatever.
