Run Race Reflect…runners, it’s what we do. And, not necessarily always in that order.
I have been a runner all my life if I count the endless
schoolyard races I ran alongside my brother.
There were only two faster than me in the school and they were both
boys, one being my brother, Jon, a year and a half older. The sibling rivalry alone brought it out in
me. I didn’t care if I beat Jamie O.,
the fastest kid in the school – heh. I
just wanted to beat my brother.
I wish I had played sports competitively in school but the
ones I was interested in, soccer & track, were not offered in my small town
when I was growing up anyway. For those
of you who have read Born to Run, by Chris McDougall can relate also to the
inspired feeling I get when I think back to running as a kid. My brother and I played chase for as long as
I can remember…we were still chasing each other into our early teen years in
the snow (which was the ONLY time I could ever beat him, which would explain my
current passion for running in the snow….we
enjoy most what we are good at.)
As adult runners we are faced with one small drawback –
overuse injuries (at least that is the only one I can think of.) – yet, we have
the advantage of a thought process that allows us to reflect on where we were,
where we are, and where we want to go. This
helps us to become the best runner we can be want to be. I change that because our capabilities are
reliant on what we want. More so, they
rely on what we actually believe is possible given we listen to our bodies and give it the nutrients and rest required for performance.
I started running again at the beginning of 2011, took a
forced sabbatical from the springtime until July and picked it back in
August. It is this time that I consider
myself to have become a runner for this is when I met two of my closest friends
and mentors who took me under their wing, believed in me and let me tag along
with them to an ultra-run event where I was able to participate as a pacer
(more on this in my next post covering my training and races over the last
year.) I have come shown an amazing
amount of progress with what my closest friends have said very little training
compared to most. I admit my training
has been unconventional by any online training guides that I have read. That is because I have followed my heart more
than my head.
But, we are about to embark on a new year and I am already registered
for many races which I ran in 2012 with new events and goals in my sights. I have resolutions to keep an accurate
training log and to step it up, so to speak, following a more conventional way
of training. But in the end…I can not
wait to have a blast this year again! I’m
here to share in my training runs, race experiences, and reflections and to gain
insight from other running communities…I hope we can all share our
expectations, progress, success, failures, and lessons learned.
