I guess you could say I have officially been a
post-collegiate athlete for one full year now. Even though I graduated in May,
my eligibility ended with cross country in the fall of 2011. Last spring was
spent “training” for the Colorado Marathon. I say “training” because really it
wasn’t much to go on. I ran fairly consistently (meaning once a day almost
every day) for much of January, February, and March. Then April hit, with the
fatigue of student teaching and terrible senioritis, the motivation just to get
out the door plummeted. That being said, the marathon could have gone a lot
worse. I won and broke 3hrs, essentially meeting both my goals for the race.
But it wasn’t until June that things really started to kick
off. I join the Boulder Track Club and began training with a new coach. After
taking some post-marathon recovery time, I slowly built myself back into
running moderate mileage. And somewhat surprisingly, this fire of motivation was
lit in my mind. I had made up my mind that I wasn’t going to get a teaching job
and instead was going to focus all my time and energy on my running career. I
think back to that time, really just 6 months ago, and already smile at my naiveté.
Oh if I had only known the road I was about to start down… J
The first big shock came when I raced in the Firecracker 5k,
just a local Ft. Collins race held every year on the fourth of July. I had been
doing a few workouts, but was just going to race for fun and to help get my
legs back under me again. Well, I ran 16:59 and finished second to Katie
Mackey. Now I realize 16:59 is a 5k time that I hope to blow right out of the
water in the future, but for me at that time, on that day, I was pleasantly surprised
at how fast I had run. Especially considering I had barely broken 17min on the
track in my entire college career (at sea level mind you). Today, my coach
would say I am a quick adaptor, and I certainly can’t deny it with results like
that.
The summer road season continued to go exceptionally well. I
surprised myself, and everyone else, with a 33:47 road 10k in Colorado Springs
in July. And then, having done literally 3 training runs for it, I raced the
Pikes Peak Ascent and finished second! I can’t say I have ever had more fun
racing and running than I did last summer, well until I got to fall. Besides
having exceptionally nice weather, the fall continued to bring exciting race
results and even better training. I had more teammates to push me in workouts
and my motivation was ever growing. I entered a few cross country races and
enjoyed some success that I never found in college. Jake and I were adjusting
to the Paleo Diet well. And in the back of mind, I kept the thought of 2013 and
the possibilities it held for me.
There was a bit of a blip with our trip to New Zealand. It
definitely threw me out of my rhythm and upon returning home, I felt I had lost
much of the work I had put in over the previous months. However, I proved to
myself that the fitness wasn’t too far gone and pulled an average-good day at
Club XC Nationals in Lexington, Kentucky by finishing 15th. Competing
on the national level opened my eyes to the realities of my situation. It is
all good and well to win local Colorado races, but put yourself into a field of
national runners and the circumstances drastically change. You are reminded that
you are not one of ten people fighting tooth and nail for a place in the elite
running world, you are one of hundreds. It was a humbling reminder of how hard
it is going to be for me to achieve my goals. But also inspired me to become
better in everything I do.
The way I see it, 2012 was the beginning of a new era of
running for me. I completely re-adjusted my life to revolve around running. It
was (and still is) a daily struggle full of sacrifice and satisfaction. Anyone who
has read my previous blogs about running, will know that I try my best to do everything
I can to become a better athlete. What I eat, when I sleep, where I work, it
all revolves around running. Running is my number one priority. In the few
short weeks of 2013, I have already been shown how I can be doing more than I have
been to be better. Wow, and I thought I was doing it all. But we can almost
always do just a little bit more to be better prepared for a race. And I
believe it is completely worth it. I am going to continue putting myself out
there and making sacrifices because what the hell am I doing if I’m not willing
to risk it all. The long term goals I am striving for are so far out there, I
know I will never reach them if I am not the best I can be every day. I will
not settle. I will not cut corners. I will work hard and wait patiently for my
potential to unfold.
Honestly, I never knew I had this much passion and drive. I’m
not sure where it was hiding during high school and college, obviously some of
it was there, but nothing compared to what I have now. The journey through 2013
may be rocky or smooth, probably a combination of both. Expectations, goals? I
am literally sitting here, shaking my head and smiling. I have no freaking clue
what to expect. Maybe that is why I haven’t been able to blog about my goals. I
am scared out of my mind because I know I am sitting at the start of something
very special that will continue to change who I am. I did a workout yesterday
(second workout after a stint of high mileage) that was arguably one of the
best workouts I have had in my entire life. It’s a lot to process, being able
to run faster than I ever have without really thinking about it. And in a way,
nothing to process at all. I try to keep my wide-eyed stare to a minimum,
because I am a different person, and definitely a different runner, than I was.
I can tell you this, the goals I have set for myself (which are on not on the
conservative end) jump right over where an outsider may have expected me to go
based on my college running career. And I set them. I know they will be hard to
achieve, if they weren’t then they wouldn’t really be goals. And if I don’t
meet them, it won’t be the end of the world. Because I am confident that I will
get close and even getting close will be a worthy accomplishment for me.
Let me finish with this last thought, I love my life. I am
literally having the time of my life every day! I am so grateful that the pursuit
of my dreams is actually a reality for me. And that certainly wouldn’t be
possible without Jake. I am so grateful for his willingness to sacrifice with
and for me. It makes all the difference in the world.
I cannot wait to see what this year has in store for me. I
really enjoy measurable growth and change (must be the teacher in me) which is
why blogging a good use of my time. It is like a little snap shot of who I am
any given day. I will not be the same person this time next year, I will not be
the same person this time next month, I may not even be the exact same person
this time tomorrow! I greatly anticipate the experiences I will have and the
lessons I will learn as life goes on. So 2013… bring it on and let the fun
continue!!!
e.
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