Last Sunday, I ran a 10km race. I made a new personal record, and I kind of want to talk about it. Deal with it.
I love running. And if you were to ask me why, I really wouldn't be able to give you a straight answer. When you think of it, it's really not that fun. You do the same motion over and over again, there are no rules, there are no points, and no one wins. It's mostly a solitary sport, it's hard on the joints, and it makes you insanely hungry. But somehow, even with all of these cons, it brings me an intense sense of satisfaction. I think it boils down to pushing both my physical and mental limits. Sometimes when I run, I feel strong and powerful and it motivates me to work even harder, but other times I feel weak and useless and though it sucks and is frustrating, it also pushes me to keep going.
Over the last year, I have had more of those weak and useless moments than the strong and powerful ones. When we moved to the Netherlands last May, I immediately signed up for the Amsterdam half marathon. That was my very first long distance race I ever ran, and I wanted to do it again not only for nostalgia, but also to see how 4 years of hard work can pay off. Unfortunately, I didn't end up running the race due to a minor knee issue. I needed some time off to rest and heal, and that forced me to put my goal on hold. If there's something in this world I hate more than olives, bleu cheese and mustard, it's promising myself to do something and then not following through. So, once my knee was feeling back to normal, I started training again and set my eye on the Utrecht half marathon. But, as we all know, shit happens, and shortly after getting back into my training routine, I became quite ill with influenza, and again, I was forced to take the time to let myself heal.
Come January, I was back to being healthy and ready to tackle training once again. What I didn't consider though was that over a period of 4 months, I had hardy ran at all. My very first run of 2016 yielded the slowest pace I had seen in years and I was beyond frustrated. I actually considered just giving up on running entirely right then. In the last year, it had brought me more disappointment than joy and I felt like it wasn't worth it anymore. But like I said, I promised myself I would run another half marathon, and I wasn't going to give up, so I drew up a training schedule and began the hard work.
In the last couple months, my frustration has been transformed into determination and on Sunday, I finally saw the fruits of my labor as I ran the Utrecht marathon 10K event. During the race, I felt so incredibly powerful and strong. Whenever I wanted to give up, I just reminded myself that I didn't spend all those hours training to walk, and after 51 minutes and 4 seconds, I crossed the finish line. I had just ran the fastest 10km of my life, and though my muscles were cramping and I was so exhausted I could hardly talk, I felt like I was on top of the world.
And that is what I love about running. I love proving to myself that I can do these things. I love that at the end of it all, it's a competition with myself, and that when I cross the finish line in record time I can feel a sense of accomplishment even though there were 53 other women who finished before me. Perhaps I didn't win the race, but in a sense I did. I won against myself and that's what inspires me to continue training for the half marathon I've been working towards.
I'll be running the 21.1 on May 22 in Leiden, and hopefully I'll have another success story to share with you!
I love running. And if you were to ask me why, I really wouldn't be able to give you a straight answer. When you think of it, it's really not that fun. You do the same motion over and over again, there are no rules, there are no points, and no one wins. It's mostly a solitary sport, it's hard on the joints, and it makes you insanely hungry. But somehow, even with all of these cons, it brings me an intense sense of satisfaction. I think it boils down to pushing both my physical and mental limits. Sometimes when I run, I feel strong and powerful and it motivates me to work even harder, but other times I feel weak and useless and though it sucks and is frustrating, it also pushes me to keep going.
Over the last year, I have had more of those weak and useless moments than the strong and powerful ones. When we moved to the Netherlands last May, I immediately signed up for the Amsterdam half marathon. That was my very first long distance race I ever ran, and I wanted to do it again not only for nostalgia, but also to see how 4 years of hard work can pay off. Unfortunately, I didn't end up running the race due to a minor knee issue. I needed some time off to rest and heal, and that forced me to put my goal on hold. If there's something in this world I hate more than olives, bleu cheese and mustard, it's promising myself to do something and then not following through. So, once my knee was feeling back to normal, I started training again and set my eye on the Utrecht half marathon. But, as we all know, shit happens, and shortly after getting back into my training routine, I became quite ill with influenza, and again, I was forced to take the time to let myself heal.
Come January, I was back to being healthy and ready to tackle training once again. What I didn't consider though was that over a period of 4 months, I had hardy ran at all. My very first run of 2016 yielded the slowest pace I had seen in years and I was beyond frustrated. I actually considered just giving up on running entirely right then. In the last year, it had brought me more disappointment than joy and I felt like it wasn't worth it anymore. But like I said, I promised myself I would run another half marathon, and I wasn't going to give up, so I drew up a training schedule and began the hard work.
In the last couple months, my frustration has been transformed into determination and on Sunday, I finally saw the fruits of my labor as I ran the Utrecht marathon 10K event. During the race, I felt so incredibly powerful and strong. Whenever I wanted to give up, I just reminded myself that I didn't spend all those hours training to walk, and after 51 minutes and 4 seconds, I crossed the finish line. I had just ran the fastest 10km of my life, and though my muscles were cramping and I was so exhausted I could hardly talk, I felt like I was on top of the world.
And that is what I love about running. I love proving to myself that I can do these things. I love that at the end of it all, it's a competition with myself, and that when I cross the finish line in record time I can feel a sense of accomplishment even though there were 53 other women who finished before me. Perhaps I didn't win the race, but in a sense I did. I won against myself and that's what inspires me to continue training for the half marathon I've been working towards.
I'll be running the 21.1 on May 22 in Leiden, and hopefully I'll have another success story to share with you!
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