how to love running while letting go
happy global running day
In honor of Global Running Day, I wanted to write about how I healed my relationship with running post-competitive racing. I hope this helps anyone transitioning from post-collegiate running or those seeking a new perspective.
This past year, I've had the most fun running and potentially the least total miles run in a year since I was 18 years old. I ran my first structured marathon with the help of coach @molly and my second for fun. I soaked in every pre-wedding shakeout (this is what happens when you ran track in college) and every unexpected trail run. Running became my outlet for fitness, socializing, and meditative moments—pics featured from a damn good year of running around.
None of this would be possible if I hadn't learned how to release the hold that running versus training meant to me. I didn't want to make my life wholly centered around running, but I wasn't willing to let go of the possibility that I could still improve physically, and there was untapped potential.
Then a friendly therapist said, "You know you can still run and not train". It almost felt like the permission I was looking for. The voice that quieted my brain and removed the guilt of not running every day. The relief to learn how to love my sport of 16 years as a peer and not as a coach.
But what about new goals? The NYC marathon was the first time I decided to train for something after stepping away from the track. I knew if I aimed for the classic Olympic Trials goal of 2:37 it would be too much with my grad school lifestyle, and I didn't want to say no to things because of running. That didn't mean I didn't want to work hard and move my body; it just meant I would listen closer, take recovery days, and skip workouts without feeling guilty. The goal was to enjoy and be present, and while it was hard to check in daily about my priorities, it made for a damn fun day in November.
As former track athletes, it is so hard to let go of structure, but the loosening of the grip can take you back to a place where you realized why you loved the sport in the first place—happy global running day. I would run today, but I'm too sore from lifting, and I'm okay with that for the first time in years.