Life of a College Runner: Obstacles

Morgan Barnard
Sep 9, 2018 · 6 min read

Hello dear readers! I hope you enjoy this week. It’s a full week of training for us, with our next meet being next weekend, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t uneventful. I have just realized that this will be the 21st week I’ve written this blog. Wow! It doesn’t feel that long at all. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Monday

We’re still running morning practices, starting at 6:15 and 6:00 on workout days. This morning it was storming, so we had to stay inside for the first part of the run. We did abs and hurdle step-over drills to buy some time, but we still ended up running four miles inside. That was not so much fun. Finally, we were able to go outside and do the last few miles. Coach Karly ran with me for the last mile, which was nice. I’m usually on my own for that. Then we did four hill sprints and four strides. It started pouring during our second stride, so we went inside for the last two. My total time was around 56:45, 8:06 pace. It’s going to be rainy all week, supposedly.

This afternoon, something sort of unexpected happened. The guys almost dropped me on the double! Usually I’m able to stay with them, but today my stomach wasn’t feeling great, I was a little dehydrated, and they were going a bit faster than usual. I didn’t mind — it’s not like I expect them to slow down for me — it just surprised me. Matt has started running with us, too, which is great news. It was super humid this afternoon. Overall, it was a good run, I just fell behind in the last mile. My time was 23:03, 7:35 per mile.

Tuesday

Today was not a good day. We had a workout this morning, doing 6 x 1K repeats on the track. My group was supposed to do 4:05 for each one. It started out perfectly fine for the first two. We ran solid 4:05, 4:03, and 4:05. Halfway through the third one, I started feeling not so great. My stomach felt upset and at the end I was dizzy. My head started to spin as we got on the line for the fourth one. I made it a lap before I had to pull myself over to the side of the track and retch. I didn’t actually throw up, but I was gagging and fell to my knees. When I stood up, I was shaking and still lightheaded, while trying to wipe the tears from my eyes and get my breathing under control.

Luckily, Kamryn was there to help me go see Sam, our athletic trainer. She thought it had something to do with my anemia, as it has only been a few weeks of me taking the iron supplements. I won’t feel better right away. She had me do a short, easy cool-down on the stationary bike. I had to talk to Coach after that. He told me not to sweat it, that we just pushed too hard too fast on this particular day. He said we’re not decreasing my mileage nor bumping me to a different workout group. The most important thing, he stressed, was to not let this get me down, don’t let it destroy my confidence. I’m going to try hard to do so. It just sucks because I feel like a failure. I hate not being able to complete a workout. I’ve worked so hard over the summer and it feels like it’s all been for naught. But I’m going to try to keep my chin up and move forward. This anemia is just an obstacle that I’ll have to overcome.

This afternoon we had lifting, which included leg circuit and bands. My total mileage for the day is just over four miles.

Wednesday

Our practice was moved to the afternoon due to supposed thunderstorms, so I started off the day with an early morning double. I’m at Lisbon High School all week because of my class, so I had to run earlier than the rest of the guys. But I was lucky because Caleb went with me! We ran three miles and talked about life. Well, I did a lot of the talking, but it was really nice to just talk to him. It was a little slower than usual, but that’s okay.

This afternoon, surprise surprise, it was raining. We ran our steady run out and back on Ink Road, and it was steadily raining the whole time. It felt good, though. I was really nervous about the workout because yesterday didn’t go well, but I stuck with the group. We were supposed to be 7:20 pace, but we ran 7:18, 7:23, and 7:16. I did a cool-down mile by myself. Afterwards, we did core and hurdles. My total time was 54:33, 7:36 per mile. I feel really happy about today.

Thursday

We actually made it out to Willow Creek this morning instead of getting stuck by traffic. It was just a six mile easy run this morning. I had an embarrassing fall on the way out, going too fast around a curb and slipping on some mud, but I wasn’t hurt. Just a mortal wound to my pride. Apparently my fall/roll on the ground was actually graceful, so that’s the upside.

Tomorrow we have an intense tempo run planned, so we took it easy today. On our way back into campus, we did four hill sprints. We then did four strides on the track, and I had to quickly shower and get ready for school. Our time today was 49:59, 8:20 per mile. I’m a little sore from yesterday and the day before, but not too bad. We had lifting again this afternoon, which helped stretch out my legs.

Friday

Today was the day. The dreaded tempo run. We ran out to the road by the golf course and started there after 1.5 miles of a warm-up. My group was aiming for 6:55 pace for 3 miles, a 3 minute break, and then another 2 miles at that same pace. I was super nervous. But I knew I could stay with my group for at least the first half, so that’s what I tried to do. We were to run on Bud Road and then out and back on Standing Rock. When we took off, my heart was beating so fast it made it hard to breathe. We were flying for the first half mile, it seemed. I had no idea how we could keep that pace. It just seemed too fast. Lo and behold, our first mile was 6:46. We slowed down a little bit, going through the next mile at 7:00, but then picked it back up to 6:51 for the end. And it felt great!! I felt good!

We took a short break, and then jogged to the next starting point. We started out way fast on the next part, going 6:39 pace. Finally we reigned it in and got back down to 6:59 pace, which was a little slow. So 6:50 was our average pace for the 2 mile, 6:53 for the 3 mile. I felt fantastic!! With tempo runs there is usually some pressure to hit the time; it feels almost like a race. But we did it and I feel awesome about it. I was in a rush getting ready for school after that, but it didn’t matter. I was proud of that workout.

Saturday

This morning was beautiful for our long run! We went to Solon. It felt like a lovely fall day. I ran with the 8 milers, and we stayed under 8:00 pace for most of the run. I felt good again, much better than last week’s long run. I was a little sore from the tempo, but not too bad. I had to do the last 2 miles by myself, but I didn’t mind. I went back on the trails instead of doing two laps around the park. My time was 1:20:47, 8:05 per mile. Today was a great way to end the week!

Even though Tuesday did not go as I wanted, I feel like I redeemed myself on Friday. I can’t wait to go kill it at our first 6k meet next week!!

Thanks for sticking around!

— Morgan

Morgan Barnard

Written by

College Runner, Reader, and Writer. Destined for great things, I think.