Then and Now: Celebrating 10 Years of Marathon Running

I cannot believe it’s been ten years since my first marathon. When I think about those ten years and all that’s transpired in my running life, a few thoughts come to mind (besides I feel old).

 

In the last ten years, I have undoubtedly evolved in how I train and race. (Check out the posts I’ve written on what I’ve learned from training and marathoning). Because of that, I’ve managed to cut my personal record down by 54 minutes since that very first marathon. But that’s only a part of it. My mentality has evolved: How I cope with disappointment, how I stay motivated to strive for new goals. How I view myself as a runner. How running has become a substantial part of my identity as a human.

 

Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have described myself as a runner, but as a person who runs.  I signed up for a marathon just to try it out. To try a new challenge and see if I could do it. I had no idea that a bona fide runner lived inside me and that I had just awoken her. I had no idea that I had started a cascade of events that would shape me into the person and the athlete that I am today.

 

I look back at the very first post I wrote in this blog. I said “no matter what stage in my life I’m at, running will always provide that refuge. That place where I feel completely untouchable.” Those words are still true, and now I would extend that sentiment. Running is not just my escape from the external, challenging parts of the world, but a way that I connect with the internal – and yes sometimes challenging – parts of myself. It is my form of meditation, my me time.

 

So to celebrate and reflect on all that I’ve accomplished, and all the ways I have evolved as a runner over the past ten years, I signed up to be a part of the Baltimore Running Festival once again. Where it all started. Of course all events were virtual this year, which opened up the opportunity for new races, including the 26.2 Challenge – leaving it up to the runner when and how they want to complete 26.2 miles. I chose to split it up over two days and run two half marathons in a row.

On the first day, I had some fun with it and started out by running a course that spelled out “10 years”. It was a lot more difficult than I thought! One wrong turn and I would have messed the whole thing up! After that I ran the rest on my favorite, go-to route along the waterfront in my neighborhood. Both days were beautiful, clear, fall days. I ran at a comfortable pace, and my legs and lungs felt powerful and strong. I didn’t feel pressure to be or do anything other than run. I ran for the runner I was ten years ago; resolving to tackle new challenges. I ran for the runner I am now; embracing my identity and all the progress I've made. I ran for the runner I will be in ten more years; whoever that runner turns out to be.

Run Streak Day 300 - A QuaRANtine Story

It’s been 200 days since my last post. It might as well have been 200 years considering how much has changed. I know I don’t need to tell you what I mean. We have all been affected by this pandemic in ways we could have never imagined. 
But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: I’m still running every day. And I just reached day 300!

I think it’s fate that I chose to start this running streak when I did. It has provided a constant in a world I no longer recognize. It’s helped me to keep a sense of self when so many other things in my life feel foreign. It’s kept me motivated to stay active despite having nothing to train for.

 

I have to chuckle when I look back at my last post. I had so many grand expectations of what this year and the rest of my streak would look like. At first, it did continue to look like that. I travelled and ran in a few more places.

Then in early March, on the eve of my very first race of the season, came the news that the race was canceled. And boom, boom, boom, race after race was canceled, including the marathon I was nearly finished training for. Everything was suddenly closed, I found myself working from home every other week, and all upcoming travel plans were out the window.

We all naively thought this thing would blow over in a month. Or maybe two. Three? There’s no way it will stay this way for more than three, right? Well, here we are nearly five months in and no end in sight. Perhaps the most difficult part of it all was when the reality hit Jin and I that our wedding was not going to happen this year; at least not in the way we want it to. So we made the difficult decision to postpone it by a year. What does that mean for my streak? Now it will be a two-year streak!

 

Don’t get me wrong, there have been good things too! My family is healthy. I’m healthy. Each mile I run, each time I take a stride and fill my lungs, I am reminded of that. I still have a job, a steady income. I have the luxury of being able to quarantine. I am not risking exposure on the front lines like so many others. Being home more has enabled me to revive some of my long-neglected interests. And we were able to adopt another pup!

On my daily runs, I have loved seeing words of encouragement. Signs on storefront windows, or written in chalk on the sidewalk. They are little bright spots in the dark.

And although all the in-person races have been canceled I have found a new appreciation of virtual racing. I joined the Un-Canceled Project. It started as four weeks of virtual racing where each runner chooses the distance and number of times to race (I did one per week). Soon it expanded to six weeks, then ultimately twelve! Each week had a different theme and you could earn a virtual bib for each race. It may not sound like much, but committing to a race each week breathed new life into my running. Not to mention it made me feel like a part of a running community again – connecting with other runners and sharing positivity and encouragement with each other on social media.

 

I chose to race the first six weeks on the road, racing a different distance each week. I found out just how much my daily runs have been keeping me in shape when I ran a new personal best in the 5K, 10K, and 8K!

 

For weeks 7-12 I decided to try something new and take my running to the trails. Trail running has always held a certain allure and what better time to try something new! Plus it’s much easier to be socially distant on the trails.

 

My streak so far has turned into something very different than what I first imagined. But I wouldn’t change it. What a unique experience to run through a global pandemic. What a unique perspective I have gained as my daily runs have helped me to cope. To reconnect with myself, with others, and with nature. To appreciate the remarkability of every 1+ mile, even as I run down the same old streets.