Combining Summer Smiles with Cross Country Miles
Maybe it's brewing at the back of your head at about this time. Nudging you while you sleep. Reminding you even when your top is down and your car is headed south, headed out to the where the pavement turns to sand.
You looked forward to summer as you should, but you know the towel you're lying on now with the ocean in front of you will soon be the same towel you're wiping the sweat off after a run in the heat. Your snorkeling flippers will soon be replaced by spikes and light weight shoes.
And that alarm clock, that you gladly wanted to set for August when the final school bell sounded last May, reminded you that you can't wait that long before beating the sun up, taking a break from your break if you will, to get in some miles.
Enjoy these days, as you should, but you know in the back of your mind there's a coach out there checking your mileage on Strava, sending texts and emails about numbers to hit, goals that need reaching, those reminders that the leaves will turn and they'll turn sooner than you think.
As for now, that person in the distance may be a lifeguard carrying a warning flag, but before you know it, said person will be a man standing in front of you holding a gun - a starting gun.
It will fire. You can hear it now while in Daytona or Jacksonville or Ft. Lauderdale or all those places. And perhaps the question is, how will you feel in the starting box when his arms are raised?
Is there a balance to all this and, if so, did you handle it okay? True, there are no trophies handed out in July, but whether you or your team even gets one or not is perhaps based on how well you make the transition, add training even when at the lake, take the time to slip in some miles.
Maybe you wonder why you do this, why not be normal and just lie here? Rent another cabin. Fly to Bora Bora. Go parasailing.
Then again, greatness isn't built on normal now, is it? It's the hard that makes it great, yes? Maybe there's your desire to lounge around sitting on one shoulder while your coach's voice sits on the other.
You will do what you will do. Regardless, as you lie your head under the stars somewhere across this country, there will soon be that moment. When your team has taken that last strider and you're all arm in arm, huddled together, heads down, almost in prayer.
With that thought, you lace up your shoes, or you run barefoot on the beach, or you plan out your next course. The warmth of the sun is replaced by your coach's smile, the gun ahead now inspiration instead of desperation.
After all, you are a runner, an athlete, a teammate. And you know that nothing great was ever accomplished by doing the same things everyone else does.
So, off you go - left foot, right foot, forward. Repeat. And as the sound of the waves are replaced by the rhythm of your feet, you lope ahead in satisfaction.
Because you're a runner, and you will be ready....
Dunn Neugebauer
Holder of lots of jobs
Author, coach, nice guy-
2019 GHSA Girls' XC State Champions
2022 GHSA Boys' track State Champions