S4E1: 8 Running Mistakes I'd Take Back

Guys, you know, I get a little bit pensive and I look back and I spent a whole lot of time pontificating or 18 doing whatever it is when I decide to get in front of a microphone about all things running, what you should do, what you shouldn't do, what I think you ought to do.

And so I was sitting here and I was thinking, if I could go back.

If I could go back 30, 30, man, I'm talking 35, almost 40 years.

What would I have done differently if I could go back and do it all over again? And God rest his soul, Toby Keith said, you know, I'm not as good as I ever was or I'm good once as I ever was or whatever that song is.

And I'm here to tell you right now, I'm way better now.

I'm way more knowledgeable now.

than I ever was, and if I could go back, man, there's a lot of stuff that I think I would do differently.

Going back to sort of my youth track and field days, my youth cross-country days, scholastic days, mainly high school, right? I look back.

That's where the beginnings were.

The beginnings for me actually were even in summer track when I was a youth, 10, 11, 12 years old.

But it really got rolling right in high school, 14, 15, up to 18 years old when I signed my college scholarship.

And I look back and I just chuckle.

And I laugh and I shake my head.

There was a lot of ignorance, not volitional ignorance, but just literally not knowing.

Right.

And I look back at it and I think that a lot of my habits and a lot of the things that I did were very well intentioned and I think served me well.

Listen.

I was not the physically talented guy that I think a lot of my competitors were.

I did not have just stratospheric physical ability, solid physical ability, but not stratospheric, right? And I look back and I think, man, I could have been a lot better had I known a few more things about how to go about doing this.

But I did substitute a whole lot of toughness for it.

I ran with a lot of grit.

I was able to be really, really masochistic.

Ran myself into the hospital on two occasions in high school.

Once after the regional championships my sophomore year in cross country.

And then once at the regional track and field championships my senior year.