The Art of Showing Up
The Art of Showing Up

When I started running, my expectations weren’t exactly what I’d call “realistic.” My lungs had never been great with cardio, and I couldn’t run a full mile without stopping. Didn’t matter – I wasn’t about to let those minor details get in the way of setting some lofty goals. Run a 5k at a 7-minute pace? That sounded like a great idea. Just a little training and I’d be there in no time!

I set up a crazy schedule alternating between regular runs and sprints and saw no reason I couldn’t be at my goal within a year. Every run day was hard, and while I loved the results I was seeing, the activity itself was just plain unpleasant. I got butterflies in my stomach before every sprint, and every day I didn’t meet my scheduled goals I felt grouchy and inadequate.

Then the injury happened – on a day I was physically exhausted and should have taken it easy but decided to do sprints instead. The pain started a few seconds into my first round, and when it did there was no question something was wrong with my hamstring. I gave it a few minutes at an easy jog to see if the sensation was something I could run off. Nope – and just like that, my aggressive training plan was derailed.

With that sinking feeling that comes from knowing you’ve damaged yourself, I grudgingly decided to take a week off. One week turned into a month, and that month turned into several months more. Every time I tried to get back to training, I’d have mediocre days at best and bad days at worst. Inevitably I’d wind up needing to take more time to let my hamstring heal.

After a year of this same cycle, I acknowledged it was time to see a sports med doc. Fortunately, no tears or major damage were found, and a few months of physical therapy were enough to get me back on the trails – exciting! Not so exciting, however, was the fact that by that point I’d lost most of the progress I’d made. I welcomed myself back to square one. Running was hard, even at the slowest of paces, and my motivation waned. I considered throwing in the towel and just sticking to the stationary bike at the gym, but it was hard to give up the outside activity and opportunity to run with friends.

It wasn’t until I realized what I’d be losing by calling it quits that I gave myself permission to strive for less. I did away with all my time goals and even allowed myself to stop and walk when I needed to. In a complete departure from any goals I’d set before, my new aim was just to show up. Even if I only ran 5 of 30 minutes out on the trails, the day was a win just for getting out there. Sure, I wasn’t working toward anything revolutionary, but being outside felt good, and not expecting unrealistic gains on every run felt even better.

These days, I (mostly) maintain that mentality, and running is something I look forward to. I love relaxing into the rhythm of my footfalls. Plus, all that energy that was previously going into killing myself for time I now channel into appreciating the world around me. Added bonus: “just showing up” so consistently has led to pace improvements without even trying. And while speed isn’t my goal anymore, I’d be lying if the old me wasn’t just a little proud of my progress.  

 
 
Learn to push through pain. Cause it 

will hurt, and hurt, and hurt, and then

one day... BOOM !!! Stress fracture. 

Then you rest
5:00AM 

The hour when legends are either 

waking up or going to sleep
BOSS: "Hey, can you hop on Zoom 

real quick?" 



ME:

New Featured eBibs

Get ready for a pounding. Some of us  could see 8 inches or more. That's too  much --- even for me.
You know it's cold outside when  you trip over dog poop instead of  stepping in it
SEVERE COLD WEATHER WARNING  **people are being told to stay inside unless going out is completely  necessary  **runners are being told  to wear a hat
Nothing hurts quite like the first track Tuesday workout after the holidays
Never thought I'd be the type of person to get up and workout in the early AM  and I was right
"May the only negative things in 2022 be your splits."       –Sir Mo Farah
"Running only works if you go for a run."      –Eliud Kipchoge
You're legally allowed to park in a handicap spot the day after your  marathon
Not to brag but I've run every day  this year
And here we fucking go again. I mean Happy New Year
You know you're a runner when...  you've tried to convince a friend to run a 5k with you because "it's ONLY  3.1 miles."
Me during a race: I'm killing it. I love this feeling Shit this is hard. OMG I'm dying  When is it over? Actually dead I love this song. Fuck this hill I can't do this anymore.  FINISH LINE I fucking looove running!
my goal for 2022 is to never let myself fall as low as i did in 2021, never again.
The hardest part of training for a  new race is pretending that I'm still in shape the first 30-45 days
*comes home from a run*  Nobody: Absolutely no one: Not a single soul on this Earth  Me: "OK I'll show you my  pace and splits"
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