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.  

 
 
Seen a lot of slim chicks posting their

workouts on here so I thought I'd join 

the fun
Warning : I will bully every one of you

into daily stretches, plyo drills, crazy 

intervals, lifting heavy weights and 

epic long runs
104 °F.....  As my Grandma says, 

"Marathon training ain't for p*ssies."



Crazy old lady is right.

New Featured eBibs

Learn to push through pain. Cause it  will hurt, and hurt, and hurt, and then one day... BOOM!! Stress fracture.  Then you rest
What if I don't want a cropped shirt. What if I want the entire shirt.  What then? What. Then.
Never be cool. Never try to be cool.  Never worry what the cool people  think. Head for the warm people.  Life if warmth. You'll be cool  when you're dead.
How long are you supposed to rest in between mile repeats? Like 6 months?
"PAIN is just the french word for bread."     ~ David Goggins
I love December because I be treating myself with everything. new running  shoes? done. new gps watch?  done. mental stability? that's  on backorder bitch
Nobody has seen you at your ugliest  like your running friends have
Anyone else permanently going through  a lot lately?  "Thank you for entering the Chicago Marathon non-guaranteed  entry drawing. We regret to  inform you that..
Lord I'm not rushing you for my BQ... I'm just asking for the tracking #
Me: "skips morning run" My mind: "anxious"  Me: "goes for a run"  My mind: "anxious"  Me: Okay, you know what, fuck you!
At mile 20 I thought I was dead  At mile 22 I wished I was dead  At mile 24 I knew I was dead  At mile 26.2 I realized I had  become too tough to kill
"Why do you run so much?" Me: Have you met my parents?
Definitely sign up for a triathlon   because running isn't hard enough  already and free time is stupid
Overtraining is saying "Don't over do it,  you're gonna get injured" again and  again until you get injured
Running a marathon has taught me so much...... How fucking terrible I am  at not swearing, for example
Result Pages: <<   ... 21  22  23  24  25 ...   >>