by Daley Cline for DyeStatFL.com

I can't believe how fast time flies! This Saturday will begin my very last season of high school running... TRACK! Let's be honest, us cross country runners are pretty excited. Track... AKA distances shorter than 3.1 miles, rest between events, no hills or sandpits to trek through, and finally, being able to channel the inner sprinter in all of us. Although off-season was a nice break, I'm excited to step back on the track for some fast times, fun meets, and great memories. 

During my off-season these past few months, I've learned something incredibly important; patience. All runners have come face to face with a setback or injury sometime during their career, and we all know the hardest part is getting back to where you used to be. This is where the patience comes in. For the first month or so of offseason, I struggled with an overuse hip injury. So, for the next 2 months, I found myself spending a lot more time training in the gym than training on the track. Although cross training does keep you in relatively good shape, we all know it could never take place of running. It was a long and frustrating process to finally build back up to regular workouts, and just about week ago I started to go all out again on speed workouts and ramp up my distance. 

So, with my first track meet on Saturday, I should be freaking out. I'm definitely not back in my prime running shape. I'm not ready to go all out, in two events in one day. There's no doubt I will have a bad race. So, should I be freaking out? Yes. Am I freaking out? No. I decided that this season, there will be no "bad races." This season, for the first time in a while, I'm going to set realistic expectations. Of course, being a senior, I have very aggressive goals I want to meet. But, realistically, these goals have a much greater chance of being met towards the end of the season than now. So, I'm setting goals I know I can reach: relaxing my upper body when I run, focusing on my gait, and trying to negative split in the mile and two mile. Sometimes, you have to tuck away your pride and forget your time and your place, and focus on the bigger picture. Getting back to where I want to be will be a long process, but if I want to meet my big goals, first I have to start with my smaller ones. 

So, if you're reading this and you too have faced a setback during the off-season, and don't feel like you're quite ready to meet your season goals, don't fret. We have a long season ahead of us, and we all know the time that counts the most is in May. For now, set realistic goals and stay positive, and before you know it we'll both be back and better than ever.

Good luck to all of my fellow track runners out there in your upcoming meets!