March Madness
March Madness is in full swing, which means TV in recent
weeks has been dominated by NCAA basketball. And sandwiched between the onslaught
of exciting bracket-busting action there are NCAA commercials. Maybe you’ve
seen them: soccer players juggling while playing violin, basketball players
dribbling while carrying out chemical reactions, swimmers transforming into
photographers while emerging from the water, tennis players donning work boots
mid-swing. Each commercial is narrated with a version of the same line: “There
are over 400,000 NCAA student-athletes, and almost all of us are going pro in
something other than sports.” Count me among them. But that doesn’t mean I’m
not still chasing my running dreams.
The best adjective I have to describe my life is “busy.” My
current “something other than sports” occupation is as a PhD student in
physiology, which means that I have a to-do list that is perpetually growing
and there is no such thing as a “typical” day at work. When I’m not in the lab,
I can likely be found eating, sleeping, or training. I have learned that flexibility
is critical for my training to be effective. Though I don’t have a fixed time
of day for my workouts, I do have a schedule of runs and strength training that
I follow over a course of weeks and months. Sometimes the schedule has to be
adjusted due to my work (spending all day on my feet doing experiments is not
conducive to a good track workout) or the wonderfully-unpredictable Colorado
weather (when the wind severe is enough to blow soccer goals over and onto the
track I am forced to re-think those 400-meter repeats). But I have found that
if I approach my training with a longer-term perspective, I am able to train at
a high level while balancing my academic obligations.
Over the past several years, my running aspirations have
transformed enormously. Upon completing my college career, I was less than
satisfied, but ready just to run with no expectations. I did long, slow trail
runs in the mountains and didn’t even think about getting near a track, let
alone a race. Eventually, my competitive spirit re-surfaced, along with a
desire to push my limits and discover my potential. And hence my graduate
student-athlete lifestyle emerged. In choosing this lifestyle, I may be missing
out on things like happy hour, watching TV, and pulling all-nighters. But I
think it’s worth the sacrifice…
I may not be a professional athlete, but I am nevertheless
incredibly thankful to be able to pursue my running ambitions post-collegiately
(and thanks to BRC/adidas for the support!). The past year has been marked with several
amazing running moments, and I am excited to keep training and see what the
next few years will bring.
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