No Pain, No Gain

MERCEDES — There is nothing Alex De La Garza can do about it.

Dealing with a stress fracture is no fun when you're a long distance runner, but the Mercedes star runner makes no excuses for his frustration or the injury that was nearly a complete break that had the potential to hinder the start of his career at Lamar University.

As a junior in last year's state 1,600-meter race, De La Garza was one runner away from winning first place as he took home silver.
Garza said that if he were still an underclassman, he would sit this year's race out in order to heal.

But knowing this is his last shot at the high school glory, De La Garza has blocked out the pain that occasionally shoots through his foot to chase his dream of capturing gold at the UIL State Track and Field Championships on Friday in Austin. 

"I keep telling myself to stay focused and determined," De La Garza said. "It's a fire that I have inside me."

De La Garza has dealt with the injury for more than two months now. Long distance running coach Pete Martinez said De La Garza's foot has swelled a few times since his injury, leading to a couple of doctor's visits for X-rays that determined there was still no complete fracture.

Even less than 100 percent, De La Garza still managed to secure spots in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races with second place finishes at the Region IV-4A meet in San Antonio.

"He's learned to deal with the pain," Martinez said.

Because of the foot injury, Martinez pulled De La Garza out of the 3,200-meter race. It was a move Martinez made in order to focus primarily on the 1,600-meter race he feels De La Garza still has a shot of winning.

If De La Garza were healthy, Martinez said he would have had no hesitation about having him compete in both races.

"He was really upset," Martinez said. "I see his chances to win this even though he's injured.

"He wants it. More important, he believes." 

De La Rosa first felt the discomfort during practice after running the McAllen High Relays in February, an event during which De La Garza won first place in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races. Since his injury, De La Garza has been utilizing a swimming pool for rehabilitation work, spending as long as an hour doing interval training at either the McAllen Municipal Pool or at the home of Mercedes High School Principal Rafael Leal.

The use of both facilities has allowed De La Garza's track season to continue by helping him maintain his physical fitness.

But De La Garza said he must also be mentally fit to find success at the state level.

"You have your good days and you have your bad days," he said. "There are days when I want to run, but I can't. At the same time, I'm being smart about it."

De La Garza may not have the same push he's used to having during races, but experience and strategy are reasons he and Martinez are still optimistic for success. De La Gaza hopes to keep pace in the first two laps and position himself for the gold medal.

At the Texas Relays in Austin, De La Garza proved that strategy can work after he ran a season best 4:15 for a first place finish after starting in 15th place.

"It's going to be another Texas Relays," De La Garza said. "My last (race) as a Tiger. I'm going to run as fast as I can and go for the gold medal."