Food

Food –> 8000 calories a day. That’s about how much I consume. How do you eat so much and not get fat? I hear this question far to often to wonder why myself. The answer: I burn off all the calories. Being a track athlete as I have learned, is one of the toughest and most demanding of endeavors. One of my favorite quotes about track, especially because it pertains to my event, was by a professional football coach, which one I forget but he said something along the lines of “the most difficult thing I’ve ever seen someone do, was sprint 400m all the way around the track.” In track we push ourselves to the limit everyday, and work every part of our bodies. The result: an appetite equal to that of a grizzly bear. But with this ferocious appetite and highly demanding training, making the choice to eat that burger or piece of cake becomes much more than just deciding you’re in the mood for something tasty. It becomes the decision of increasing the possibility of injury. Due to the high level of strain, and constant trauma we put into our bodies, as track athletes we have to by more aware of our eating habits. I used to believe that because of my increased metabolism I could eat anything and it wouldn’t affect me. This is only partially correct. Sure I may not put on any weight, but an unhealthy diet can have devastating results. A poor diet can increase the chance of injuring oneself. Pulling, tearing, bruising, breaking, and straining a muscle can be the end of an athlete’s career. Earlier this year I witnessed two of our athletes pull their hamstrings before our indoor season had even started, and a third athlete during our first indoor track meet. The first two were unable to fully recover over the 7 month season, and the third was able to return for the beginning of the outdoor season, only to re-injure himself the first day. He was out for the whole season.

Sprinters VS Distance Runners

Inside the track & field cultures there is a often times a distinct difference between the personalities of distance runners and sprinters. Quite naturally, their personalities match their running style. Sprinters run all out, all the time, quick sharp and powerful movements, mirroring their mentality, often times being ADD, sprinters are usually quick thinking, witty and hyper, talking and moving around at a fast pace. Distance runners are usually a little more laid back, often times acting upon thought out logic as opposed to acting on impulse and emotion. The difference can even be measured down to body structure, heart rate, and habits. For example my brother is a distance runner, even when he is not in shape, his resting heart rate is around 45-50 beats per minute. My resting heart rate even when I am in top shape, is around 75-85 beats per minute. This leads me to believe that sprinters are naturally more on edge, naturally veering towards fast twitch actions, and having quicker reaction times. This would explain the hyper attitude as well, as opposed to a more laid back and relaxed attitude. I have found this to be true not just within my family but within the track teams I have been involved in and also those of friends and competitors. During my 4 years of track and field and also cross country in high school I met many runners from other schools, and became friends with several of them. I found that most of them fit into the molds of sprinters and distance runners fairly accurately. One of the few exceptions to this that I have come across in my experience as a runner, is a one of my teammates from high school. She ran sprinting events, and loved them but didn't quite feel right running sprinting events. Even in college, she found that she didn't fit in the other sprinters on the team, and that they didn't really accept her into their group. She has now discovered a passion for distance running and competes in long distance races. After discussing with her why she didn't think that she got along with the sprinters and why she got along so well with the distance runners I asked "maybe its because you are truly a distance runner at heart?". My friend now wants to rejoin her track team as a distance runner, which she believes she will enjoy much more.

Black Dominance in Track

In my blog I wish to further my understanding of Track & Field culture, and also the basis for several Track & Field stereotypes. My own experiences in track and field have sparked my interest for finding out more about its culture. When I run, I don't think about my surroundings, who I'm racing, or what the other runners times are like. I think about how I want to beat my last time, and run faster than I have before. When I ran in high school, I found myself an outsider in this respect. Most of the runners on my team would look at everyone they were running against and size themselves up against the competition. I found that the competitors most feared were the black runners. I would win a race and be happy about my time, but some of the praise I would receive from teammates wouldn't be about my time or simply my victory but it would be "wow you were the only guy in your heat that wasn't black" or "you beat the black kids!". I thought of these comments as offensive and ignorant. I didn't like the connotation of the white kid who is faster than the black kids, and I also disagreed with the assumption that just because they are black, that the other runners were faster. Even as a senior after I had distinguished myself as the fastest runner in our district in several events, my teammates were still amazed that I was faster than the runners of a different skin color. Underclassman would even approach me and say "i have a bunch of black kids in my heat, I'm going to get smoked" and other such comments. By this point I had noticed that the majority of the top sprinters were black athletes, but I still didn't believe that that was the cause for their success. If people merely looked past color, they would notice that the top athletes were all in phenomenal shape, regardless of skin color. They are amazing athletes who have worked above and beyond the rest to achieve a status of greatness.