Looking over my race calendar for the year and I’m having a moment.
I ran a 50 mile race in November. On my birthday, 11 days ago, I ran a 50k. Not even a race, but because I wanted to.
WHAT EVEN. SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK. HOW DID THIS EVEN BECOME THIS PERSON. I mean I’m not mad about it, like at all, BUT HOW DID THIS HAPPEN. I RUN ULTRAS. IM AN ULTRA MARATHONER AND I DON’T HESITATE IN USING THE TERM.
Me, 3 years ago: “If I keep at it, maybe I’ll be able to run a 5k without walking.”
Me, 3 minutes ago: “I think 3 weeks enough time between a 50k race and a 50 mile, right?”
No– but really though, I just went back through at my old Nike+ data. LOOK AT THIS ↓ JUST. LOOK AT IT ↓ 3 years ago, almost to the day. ↓ ↓ ↓
January 20, 2014 – 3.44 miles, 10’56” avg pace,
“First ever group run with fleet feet. Snowed, breathed REALLY hard, but I met a girl named Emy who paced me well. Really excited about it.”
3 years ago. I look back on this moment often. Hits me right in the feels, for several reasons. It reminds me anything is possible. If you want something, and are willing to work for it and work hard, the world is your goddamn oyster. At the time, I only ever *dreamed* of running a half marathon. Me? Run 13.1 miles? I could barely wrap my brain around the idea of running 5 miles.
October of the same year (9 months later), I ran my first marathon. It sucked. It sucked so much. It sucked to a point where I was ashamed at how terribly it went, that I didn’t even write a tumblr post about it, which was why I started this runblog in the first place– to document my training leading up to the momentous event of running a marathon. So yeah. It sucked. But I kept running.
…and now I’m here, sitting in a coffee shop, trying to pick a couple 50 mile races for the spring, and deciding which 100k I want to attempt in the fall.
Still not sure how I got to this point, but I’m really fucking happy to be here.
prguitarman
blakekathryn
yousharknotpass
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