Wooo-eeee...it has been a LONG time since I updated this! So, what have I been up to...hmm. Not much. Well, actually, I've run a couple marathons since I last updated this, but not as many as planned. Had a massive elbow injury in 2009 that required surgery. Had a couple of stress fractures, got mono, couple other setbacks...that's it on the injury front! Now for the good stuff!
I got married earlier in the summer -- DEFINITELY a highlight of my life, as it should be. Life's been chugging along real well over the past five years for sure, since I last updated this. On the running front, I recently took a chance on an opportunity I would have never imagined I'd have just a few months ago. I now run for the Oiselle Volee team, a group of women across the country representing Oiselle, my favorite women's running clothing company and all that it stands for. Just check out the team manifesto. I am so honored and excited to be among those chosen to help represent Oiselle and carry out its values.
I'll be honest -- my running has been very up and down since 2007 and I've wrestled with the question, why do I run? As mentioned in earlier entries, I had a pretty major injury in 2007 that was a turning point for my life. Prior to the injury and the very long layoff that followed it, distance running came pretty easy. I put in the work, and the improvements followed like a perfect trajectory. I qualified for Boston on my second try. I chopped off chunks of time and, frankly, took it for granted.
Unfortuantely, I also took my health for granted, and didn't treat my body well. I wasn't kind to it and continued to push it despite nagging injuries and a tank always close to "E." When I got injured, I had to re-evaluate everything, and I've been working on this transformation ever since.
Today, I don't run for PRs that are "just around the corner." I have hopes that I can get back to PR shape someday, but it's no longer with the "at all costs" mentality. I sacrificed a lot back then and lived a life always teetering out of balance. I'm a happier person now, and while my most recent marathon was about 31 minutes slower than my PR, it was among my most joyful -- and the way I plan to continue to run. I now run for health, camraderie and because I simply can't imagine not doing it. Nothing beats the feeling of pushing yourself just a little more than you thought you could -- no matter how fast or slow it is in relation to where you may have once been.
During one of my injury layoffs, I remember saying, "I'll never complain or take a run for granted again." I can't say I've held true to this, but I'm a lot more cognizant of it these days, and thankful! I can't wait to carry this out as part of the Oiselle team. I'm thankful for the past, but looking to the future, and so glad I get to take flight with the rest of the birds!
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