Obligation is the best motivation to work out on breaks

If I start doing backflips off of buildings, it's probably been a couple days since I've worked out.

Getting motivated to work out alone in sub-30 degree weather has a way of evoking philosophical and psychological turmoil.

Translation: I want to work out, but I don’t. And I feel like I have to, but who would know if I didn’t? Being an athlete is about doing what you’re told: Go to practice. Do your lifting. Run faster. So when a month-long break comes around, it’s like a kid’s first time home alone. It can be overwhelmingly…free.

Unfortunately, that freedom lasts for about 2.5 hours before I’m struck by what I’ll call “runner’s remorse.”

Former high school star athletes living in the past (would make great reality TV)

Ah, to be young again.

It's not just the gradient fill on the titling; that's pure awesomeness you see. It was almost four years ago, but whatever. State champs '06 baby!

It’s possible with this time vortex we call “Winter Break.” The limited contact with college friends and the nagging obligation to work out are the only reminders that you are still a Division-I student-athlete. For an entire month, you go home and spend time with friends from high school.

And when some of your best friends at home are former track teammates, the conversation goes something like this:

“We were so good.”

“I know. And we worked so hard.”

“It was the perfect combination of people at the right time.”

“…I wonder if I’m still fast.”

A new sponsor means new gear, but fewer meets

For track athletes, Christmas comes in September. Instead of tip-toeing down the stairs in the early morning, we crowd around the equipment room to receive our gifts. New shoes? Just what I wanted! And these sweats almost fit perfectly!

Now we might get a new sponsor for our clothes and shoes. That means new stuff (yes!), and the new sponsor is much more tailored our sport than the current one. Granted, all we get to keep are a couple t-shirts and our running shoes, but that doesn’t take away from the awesomeness of new gear.

But there’s a catch.

Work out during my vacation? Please…

I wake up and dry, desert sunshine peeps through the slats of the shades. A palm tree appears perfectly framed by the window when I stand. This, I think, is a vacation.

Wait a minute. Am I dreaming? Division I athletes don’t take breaks.

The reminder comes in the form of a 7 a.m. text from my coach. Today’s workout: 15 one-minute runs with 30 seconds rest.

For the love of the pain: Why hard workouts don’t (usually) make me hate track

I start the last of eight 400-meter repeats unsure of my extremities’ conditions. My legs are moving, but I can’t feel them. I can see my arms in my peripheral vision, but that’s it. And my head…well I couldn’t spew mental obscenities if that were missing.

But once I round the first curve, I remind myself of the sick truth:

I love this sport.

There’s plenty of science proving that exercise-induced endorphins make physical activity a pseudo-addictive substance. However, I’m not about to go on secret runs or hide dumbbells up my sleeves. For obvious reasons, pain and extreme fatigue aren’t my first ideas of fun.