Hello! First off, my apologies for my short hiatus. The month of May is extremely busy for me work-wise. Many extra events and functions also make May a crazy month, which unfortunately meant my random running thoughts had to take a small break. I am back though!
Since I last left you with my
Running Story: Part One, which focused on my competitive years of running cross country and track, I am here to share with you the second part of my running story. This story is still going as I'm continuing to find my place as a runner in the post-collegiate world.
First off, as many former collegiate runners and athletes can probably agree with, life after that last “competitive” race is a bit odd. When you’ve spent the last several years of your life pushing your body to the limit in practice and spending your weekends (and often week nights) in competition, it’s unusual when one day it just comes to an end. Poof it’s gone. Only a memory. It’s also strange when you’ve spent those countless hours with teammates who became friends and then became more than friends – a second family – and you no longer get to have that daily connection. Frankly, it’s an odd time after college in general. No longer having something that you gave so much of yourself to, so much so that it became part of who you are, is difficult.
After my graduation from UC, I was on the hunt for my first “grown up” job and planning my wedding, which was set for mid-August of that summer. This kept me busy, but I admit I felt loss knowing I’d never run competitively for my university again. Of course, part of me felt excited to enjoy the world around me without the constant pressure that came with collegiate running. I’m the first to admit that I was burnt out from both school and competitive running by the time graduation rolled around, so in a way it felt good knowing I wouldn’t have that anxiety to deal with. Since I was preparing for my wedding, I decided to not stop running or take a major break that many former collegiate runners often do. While not anywhere near the intensity of my college training, I continued to run for purely fitness purposes. It was by doing this and just running FOR ME and just running TO RUN, that I truly began to really enjoy the sport. I’ve always liked running, but before it was mostly all about the competition. Now, I find myself loving “just the running.” While the accomplishments and accolades from competitive running appear most impressive on paper, I am just as proud of finally learning to love “just” the running itself.
After my wedding I continued to run for primarily fitness purposes. I found it harder to do so as I was working my first “grown up” job, but I tried my best to continue to make time for running. I also found that running turned into a time for me to relieve stress, something I had always heard people talk about when referring to running, but had never experienced much of myself! Running became my place to let the stress of the day go and it was, and still is, a time for me to think. I think about a variety of things when I run, mostly RANDOM thoughts of course. I think about the run in general, my goals, how good pizza post-run would be, movies, books, my hair (like should I keep my bangs because they are bugging me on this run, but I love bangs), my friends, my to-do list – yup, that’s why random ramblings of a running princess is a fitting title for this blog!
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| Turkey Trot 2013! |
The fall of that first year where I wasn’t preparing for a cross country season was hard because I really found myself missing the sport. I decided I would run the Turkey Trot in my hometown at Thanksgiving as my first road race as a “regular ole runner.”
It was a fitting choice too since the Turkey Trot is and has become even more so a staple of my Thanksgiving traditions! As the year progressed and since then, I’ve enjoyed doing many road races. Sure I’ve won some local ones and received awards, but I don’t do them to set any records. I don’t do them as a fierce competitor, I run them for FUN, and I’ve got to say I love that I can do that. As I did more 5K road races, I did find myself wanting more of a challenge, however. I finally decided in 2011 that it was time to accept that challenge and cross an item off my bucket list: run a half marathon!
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| 2013 West Virginia 5K! |
If you remember from part one of my running story, it took a while for me to accept the fact that I was a distance runner. It used to seem like an eternity to run a half mile, and now I want to do a half marathon?! Say what? As I prepared for my first half, those old nerves from my competitive days slowly crept back. A half marathon was unchartered territory. My goal was strictly to finish. Since I was running this one solo, I also knew I'd be relying on my own confidence to get me through the race. I didn’t put any time restrictions on myself. I wanted to cross the finish line and be able to know that I still had it in me to rise to the occasion and complete a challenge that I set out to do. My first half was the Flying Pig Half Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio. Why did I choose this one? Well, I liked the name of the race. Flying pigs are cute and I thought it was hilarious that they called the finish line the “finish swine.” Yes, I’m really mature. ;) Despite the fact that I seemingly chose the one part of Ohio that’s really hilly to run my first half as well as the monsoon that took place during the race, it was a successful experience. I was pleased to finish and be able to finish in under two hours, despite not having a time goal. I remember the hard parts and thinking during the race that I never wanted to do one again, but after crossing the finish and meeting my goal, those thoughts vanished! I love setting goals, but I really love achieving goals!
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| My first half marathon: The Flying Pig! |
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| After my first half marathon! |
While half marathons still aren’t my favorite, I’m happy that I have a few under my belt now. Completing that first half gave me a sense of accomplishment that I had been missing from the competitive years. Eventually, I fell in love with Run Disney as well, which could be and eventually will be a whole other blog post! Having done two Run Disney half marathons, I can say that I’m happiest while running at my favorite place on earth!
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| After the 2013 Walt Disney World Half Marathon! |
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| Let it Goooo! Running as Elsa for the 2014 Walt Disney World Enchanted 10K! |
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Dressed as Cinderella for the 2014 Walt Disney World Princess Half Marathon!
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It's hard to wrap up this post, which has turned into novella territory, because as I said earlier, my running story is still continuing. I'm working to run and to continue enjoying running despite the crazy/hectic busy things life throws at me. I am truly blessed and thankful that I am able to continue on my running journey. I'm proud to call myself a "runner" most of all. Thank you for reading this (you deserve a medal but a virtual high five will have to suffice!). Feel free to share your running story with me. I'd love to read it! Remember, no matter how you started out, every runner has a story!
