While I was picking up and moving to London, it was hard to imagine the little things that I would ultimately miss about my Texas life. While this list grows daily, there are the obvious pain-points that continue to pop-up. Tex-mex, overly eager waitstaff, Topo Chico, and regular and predictable sunshine remain high on this list. However, as many would expect, its the people and communities in and out of the running world that I now miss the most.
Little Thing Number Two: Teammates
While it’s easier than ever to keep in touch with old networks in the age of the internet, I’m still having to actively seek out this sort of community to maintain a running network. Fortunately it’s worth it, as I’ve realized that teamwork and an open platform to share thoughts and ideas on training is an integral part to the sport of running, and a big component of daily motivation. Whether teammates serve to get you out the door on a rainy day, to encourage you to perform that extra recovery work, or to support you in your moments of failure, the accountability and excitement of knowing that another person is on your side, and has your back, is absolutely a 1-2% gainer.
As I head into the highest mileage portion of my next training block, I am relying on community to the utmost. Whether its Tuesdays at the Run-Fast track session, within a number of running centered Whatsapp groups, or the musings of The Omelettry Track Club, my current teammates and a collective of Olympic Trials hopefuls and college friends from Austin, TX, I will be leaning on people for the next 80 days to get me to the line in Duluth, MN. We all are in some way or another. Teammates help to keep us motivated through the ultimate lows of the cycle.
Grandmas Marathon
In Duluth, I am racing my 6th marathon and helping Young Rory, a close friend and Omelettry Track Club co-founder, to run sub 2:19 for the first time. We’re going to do this together, so for 100 days leading up to the race we will be tracking our running, side by side, while 1000s of miles away. Working directly with Rory, even from afar, will allow me to maintain a sense of community and motivation that is sometimes lost in this sport, especially at the amateur level. I already feel that I’m accountable to someone, and while he may not be waiting on me to show up to run in the morning, he’s counting on me as well to be there on race day.
I’m excited too to be working with Rory and the guys once again!
Do what you can to find your own teammates, old or new. Distance running is hard enough, but feeling as if you’re doing it alone can be unbearable.
Do Good,
Young Austin
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