Starting Fresh

Today, Coach Bennett asked us to remember back to when 2K was the longest you could run or when 5 miles was perceived as a long run. He wanted us to remember that we've come far from where we started, and we did it ourselves.

I always remind people that I haven't always been a runner. Not because I want the kudos for all my hard work and discipline ;) but because I think people forget that running is one of the few sports out there where you can just pick it up. My brother and I like to talk about this. If you want to get good at a sport, you practice. But a lot of the times you can't really just go from nothing to something in a few weeks. I mean, I was a decent softball player. I played for over 12 years, but it wasn't like I became an all-star. With running, it's different. You can literally pull up a blueprint that, if you follow, will lead you to be able accomplish something you haven't before. Kinda a sick concept.

While I say I've been running for about 2 years, it hasn't been consistent. Starting off this training cycle, I was basically starting from scratch. I hadn't really run in 5 months, and last year I really only ran for the last few months while training for a last-minute half marathon.

I always love to reflect on my training because it reminds me how far I've come. The story I always tell is my first 3K run. This was only back in May. I was actually nervous for it, which sounds nuts to me nowadays. This run kicked. my. ass. I mean like truly wrecked me. I felt horrible for the entire 1.9 miles. So bad that when I finished, I had my mom pick me up because I could barely walk home. I actually ended up triggering a migraine, so my day went from bad to worse. This was my first run back after I found out I got into NYC. Definitely psyched me out a bit, but I knew I had months of training ahead of me to get me where I am now.

I also think about my first 10K long run a few months back. Even though it was 'only' 6.2, I went into that run with the same amount of nerves that I do now for my 15+ mile runs. I even remember telling my roommate "ahhh I have to run 6 miles tomorrow..." "need to stay in tonight to make sure I'm prepared." Nowadays, I wouldn't even think about "preparing" for a 6-mile run. Not saying it is always easy, but it just doesn't require as much motivation.

I'm determined to keep this momentum up after this Marathon. I want to be able to keep building on my progress instead of doing what I normally do and go from 100 to 0 within weeks. Next thing you know, I haven't ran in months and can't cover 3 miles. I won't do that this time around.