On the 4th of July I ran my first 5K since the last race I ran as a college athlete. I was surprisingly not too nervous and actually met all the goals I set for myself. I guess the best adjective to describe my feelings about it would be 'satisfied'. There were over 2000 runners and I got a cheesy trophy for being one of the top 100 finishers so that made me happy. I honestly can't believe that I ran the race in the total time I wanted to and that my splits were exactly as I had planned. It was exciting to be in that racing environment again and I remembered why I love competing so much. Little did I know that the last half mile of the course was uphill! I felt like my legs were going to fall off but I kept on passing people so that kept me going.
All in all, I have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning and an even harder time walking down the stairs. I am so sore!! I can't say weather or not I'll do another one anytime soon, but I do have a renewed faith in my body and the satisfaction of doing just what I wanted to.
I didn't tell too many people that I was going to race again (sorry Dad) because I really wanted to do this for me. It's been so long and I didn't want to talk about it and get my hopes up and not deliver. It turns out that keeping it mostly to myself ended up being a great thing...I didn't have anyone to prove anything to but myself, and I used to always worry about disappointing someone back in my college running days. There was so much pressure and expectation on me that it resulted in a lack of motivation on my part and I'm just now beginning to realize that. It's not the easiest thing for me to be self-motivated and it's something I struggle with every single day. Sometimes I can't envision what the next 30 minutes holds and that really frustrates me. I know that in order to get where I need and want to be in life I need to work on my motivation and follow-through so I'm definitely open to any tips anyone has! It's been one of the hardest things to attempt to overcome and I'm nowhere near overcoming myself. Maybe I'll never be able to feel like I truly can. But I know I can try and it's times like last weekend that help me realize that there is a payoff to powering through the struggle.
4 comments:
WAY TO GO!!!!
I am not full of tips but, man I am so glad you did it for yourself! that to me is what matters the most.
That should prove you can do anything if you really put your mind to it.
Hurray for you!!!
I really enjoyed our texting Sunday--Heath finally said, "Just call her already!"
I am so happy you did well and met your goal. You'll get the rest of it. It just takes some time!
It's hard for a parent to look at a child with world class talent and not hope or expect. we try to motivate but also attempt to lower the pressure. I never wanted to be the big pusher behind you. to be the sterotypical olimpic parent. I could have been and you might have been, but you turned out just fine.
way to go! I'm glad you are pleased with your performance. YOu know that I am. I'm happy for you. yes it weas a great finish and cheesy trophy or not it's the one you will be most proud of
daddy
Way to go with the lawn mower!
And your race! I need to get into one of those again. I miss it. And I'm not surprised that you made all your splits--you always seem so disciplined!
As far as the motivation thing, I think that's one of life's big lessons and that's why we live for so long. Good luck!
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