Records are not often broken, but when they are, everyone hears about it. People hear all about the name, the trophy, the fans, and the recognition. What people don’t hear about is the buildup of hard work until the record. Henry Fredenberg, a senior at Chelsea High School, recently broke a cross-country record and entered the top 30 best times in Chelsea school history. People are talking all about the record, but what they aren’t talking about is the hard work and grind that happened behind the scenes.
“I just want to say that any record, and this goes for all sports, comes down to how much effort you put in, especially in times when most people wouldn't want to,” Fredenberg said.
There can be talk about putting effort in, but it comes down to whether or not it’s actually done. So it brings up the question: what specific work was done to achieve the record time?
“I think that it was due to all the training we did as a team over the summer. No one likes to get up early in the summer and go running anywhere from eight to thirteen miles, but that's how you get faster,” Fredenberg said.
To put in hard work over a long period of time takes lots of physical work and physical preparation, and while they are important, there is also a mental aspect to it.
“I think the key to it is just knowing that it's going to be uncomfortable and embracing that because if you try to skirt around it, you're not going to grow or get much better,” Fredenberg said.
Sometimes mental preparation doesn’t have to come from oneself. It can also come through advice from others and mentors.
“I was talking to one of the Chelsea alumni runners who was really fast, and he told me that the race doesn't start until you finish the second mile,” Fredenberg said.
Mental and physical challenges evoke a range of external emotions, but there is also an internal emotional response at play.
“I feel satisfaction seeing how much all the work over the summer and up to this point,” Fredenberg said. “All the work, all the hard workouts, and the satisfaction of seeing how those paid off.”
There are three steps to any record: the work up until the record, the event of breaking the record, and what the record leaves behind.
“It gave me a hunger to get more, honestly, and I know that I can start breaking my previous records and start getting in the top records of Chelsea runners, and just knowing that makes me more ambitious to take even more time off,” Fredenberg said.
