Should I do track and field?

[Anonymous]

I'm thinking about doing track and field but I'm a slow runner (there are other slow runners too) and already I'm doing other sports. I really want to do it but I'm afraid of humiliation 😔

[meowcow]

Track and field isn't only about running fast. The muscles of the human body are either fast twitch or slow twitch muscles.

For people who are fast sprinters, most of their muscles are fast twitch. Fast twitch muscles are associated with power, so these people probably punch and throw balls very hard, or can generate a lot of power during weightlifting. The downside of having lots of fast twitch muscles is that these people have no endurance. They cannot run a marathon very well, and gas out quickly.

If you run slow, your muscles may be more slow twitch. This means that your muscles were built for endurance, so you'd be best suited for long-distance running. You may not overtake the sprinter initially, but given some time, you'll catch up and pass them. People with lots of slow twitch muscles avoid events like javelin, shot put, and 4x100m relays.

In the middle are those who have a balance of both muscle types. These people don't specialize in any particular event and are generalists. They won't win medals for single events, but might do well in the decathalon which adds up the points from 10 different events.

Also, there is no humiliation in trying. There is humiliation in never trying.

[ATPPC]

You can convert some of the fibers through training though...

[meowcow]

@ATPPC

Thank you for pointing out something that is irrelevant to the asker's issue.

[ATPPC]

It's like going to the gym. There's always going to be people better than you. Everyone starts out somewhere low, and if they can't take in that fact they are an asshole.

Unfortunately there are lots of assholes in this world... Just ignore them. Think of the other sports you do. There are probably lots of people not as good as you. What do you think of them? Assuming you are a nice person lol it's likely the same way around.

[BertMacklinFBI]

don't worry about humiliation, its a team sport and everyone is friendly, besides, the last time someone actually cared about track and field to the point they shamed their own teammates for sucking was like never lol.