Why I'm not running track this season.

As every high school runner knows, track season is now upon us. I have been participating in track since 7th grade and now I'm in 11th grade. 8th grade is when I started to get into distance running, and I have done well ever since then. I loved track in 8th grade, I looked forward to all the practices and meets. I was the number one runner on the team and I made great friends. We called ourselves the Furious 5.

In 9th grade I qualified for the cross country state championship and had a great track season. But for some reason, even with all of the success, I began to enjoy track less and less. 

10th grade cross country season was pretty good but I sold myself short and didn't qualify for states. And my 10th grade track season wasn't any better, I hated it. I was miserable all season. The workouts that the coach gave us were a waste of time, instead of getting better, my fitness was actually diminishing. 

This season, my 11th grade season, cross country went alright, I sold myself short once again. But overall it was okay. And now we're approaching the track season and I've decided that I am not participating this year.I feel like track puts me in a depressive funk. And during the season I watch my motivation and fitness go from sky high to rock bottom. Instead of track, I've decided to focus on training. I'll run trail races, road races, and I plan to run a half marathon. 

I also feel like I need to find my "non-running identity" 

I am looking forward to the races I'll be running this coming spring, I'm going to take them very seriously and treat them as if they were any other race. Next year is my senior year, I plan to run cross country and return to track as well. But this year, I need a change. I need to do something different, so i can find my whole self, not just my running self.

- Anonymous