{Winter * Spring * Summer* Fall}
What an incredible year of running it has been! It’s been a wild, wonderful year in many ways, but tied for first place in “Best Experience of 2013” for me is running the Detroit Marathon. (My other “Best Experience” is meeting Paul. I think he’s okay with sharing the honor with the marathon…)
My two racing highlights of the year were the marathon and the Armadillo Dash half-marathon. During both races, I was able to set new PRs, which is always gratifying. Since the marathon was my first, of course I set a new PR but more significantly, I set a new Personal Distance Record. What an amazing feeling when that happens!
I ran a third race in June with my friend JD, but we didn’t race it. Running with JD every time I was in Michigan this year was a real treat. I love that I can look forward to a good catch-up and solid run with him whenever I’m in the Mitten.
By far the biggest challenge and biggest reward of my running year was the marathon. Training for a marathon in the midst of other life changes is both good and bad. As JD pointed out, running regularly is a positive, uplifting experience. It reinforces your self-confidence and reminds you that you can get stuff done. It moves you forward, toward a tangible goal. However, it can be hard to find a running rhythm during life changes, and I think that’s where I really struggled. My focus was elsewhere: packing, traveling, [ahem] Pinterest….During the first half of marathon training, my goal was travel (SO MUCH TRAVEL!). During the second half, I was focused on settling into my new job, which took a lot of my personal resources (time, energy, attention). Marathon training often felt like a puzzle piece that just would not fit into the rest of my life. It was frustrating and demoralizing. But amazingly, I was able to run a great marathon. I think we should always judge our race performances against our own criteria, not someone else’s. A tiny part of me wondered if I could finish in under five hours. I didn’t even want to listen to that voice because I feared being disappointed at the end of 26.2 miles. When my watch told me, late in the race, that an under-five-hour finish was possible, I went for it. How could I not? Here was my chance to put everything I had into this race, and I’m so glad I did. The feeling of triumph from that finish has lingered with me—it was a very sweet end to a long and bumpy road to the marathon.
Finally, it was such a pleasure to interview my friend Josh on his running journey from basement treadmill to Detroit Marathon. We had a great time chatting about running, health, community, and the life-changing experience that is racing. I’m tickled to see that this post is among the most viewed for the blog.
I think that I am very lucky to have an enduring relationship with running. Even when my dedication is waning, I find I am still able to return to the sport and get something positive out of it. My ability to run is deep within my body and my mind. I’m happy that I had such a wonderful experience with my first marathon; it makes me eager to sign up for another one (but not until 2015!). Much of 2013 seemed to center around testing my limits, both personal and professional. I like to think that I ended the year in a more positive place in all ways. I may have stumbled a lot over life’s potholes, but I found my footing and feel more confident that I am on the right trail now toward a path of health and happiness.
Onward and upward, friends!
No comments:
Post a Comment