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Getting Back In The (Racing) Game

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It wasn’t my intention to take the Summer Season off of racing. I was fully geared up and trained to run the San Francisco Marathon in Mid-June, when my ovaries brought me back into the hospital and my chances of running my first 26.2 were ripped away (for now). I had already run my first 16 miler, the furthest distance I have ever run, still to this day, the weekend my ovary started acting up….

So believe me when I say, the last thing on my mind was to take a 6 month hiatus from racing. It just happened… I was so angry with my body. So angry with the let downs I seemed to keep facing. When training for my first half-marathon I destroyed my hip. Then I over came it, healed, ran 3 half-marathons and then once I trained for my first full marathon a month before I have to have ovarian surgery?! I was frustrated. I was in tears. I was ready to give up running. I was ready to Q.U.I.T.

After 3 months I found myself running out of just pure will and need. I wasn’t training for anything, I had no goals set.. I was just running to be moving and to do what I love. There is nothing quite like popping in your headphones and just putting one foot in front of the other.

Dear Internet,

I have a confession: It was super nice and refreshing to have absolutely nothing demanding me to run.

I still ran, but only when I truly wanted to, and when my body said stop.. I would listen. If It begged on a random Wednesday to push the envelope and run harder or further than usual, I would listen. There was no stressing out that I missed a long run, or that I worked every day and didn’t know what time to fit in my training. There was no concern of injury, no fear of not PRing.. No stress, just pure enjoyment of the sport.

I found that I was running more, and without specific days designated for speed work, consistently pushing my limits… It wasn’t until last Sunday, that I realized how far I had come in the last 6 months. I missed the last bus home from work and decided to lightly jog the 6 mile commute home.. I walked in the door when the boyfriend commented on how quickly I had gotten home. I noticed that I had jogged the 6 miles home about 4 minutes faster than my last 10k time… When I realized how little effort I actually put into that jog home, I got so excited. The itch was back. The itch to race. The itch to train. The itch to see how far I can push my body.

running-stroller

It’s back and more fierce than ever. There is a fire inside me that nobody and nothing will be able to put out. For the first time since I got the e-mail saying I clinched a spot in the Houston Half-Marathon in January, I’m truly EXCITED to train for and run this race! I’m ready to not only PR but absolutely destroy my current one. I have no concerns loudly proclaiming that I am going to PR THE SHIT OUT OF HOUSTON. (pardon my French!)

2011 Aramco USA Half Marathon Championships

January is much too far away, though.. However, I’ve decided to stick to my theme of “fun” and “What Charlotte wants to do” training… Meaning time to dominate the 5k and explore the world of other fitness fun.

  • Esprit De She Austin Cycle Tour: 18 miles – September 14
  • Electric Run: 5k – September 27 (will be first race with the boyfriend!!)
  • IBM Uptown Classic 5k – October 6
  • Run The Water 10 Miler – October 26
  • VOLUNTEERING AT THE IRONMAN 70.3 AUSTIN – October 27
  • Dirt Trails & Pony Tales 5k – November 9
  • Thunder Cloud Subs Turkey Trot 5 Miler – November 28
  • Brown Santa 5k – December 8
  • Houston Aramco Half-Marathon – January 19

I’m excited to not only get back in the game… But I’m also excited to try new things. I’ve ridden my bike as a form of transportation or just for fun for years.. However, I’ve never done a ride like Esprit De She. I also really think I’ll have a blast at Electric Run with C… I see him shine with pride when he talks about his track/cross country days from high school and college and during workouts. It’ll be a beautiful thing to run side by side in a race (or more likely that I’ll be chasing him up ahead of me in the distance) The cheeeeesy ass runner in me has secretly always wanted to have a significant other who was a runner. :D

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.”



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