Progress - Look How Far You've Come

It's easy for me to get caught up in my next goal and forget how far I've come. This can be true for lots of areas in my life, but most of all it can be applied to my running life.  It's also easy for me to be disappointed in myself when I'm not where I want to be in relation to my goals.  It's harder for me to take a step back and appreciate the progress I've made.  But when I do, it's truly motivating. 

I began running 2 years ago this month with Fleet Feet's No Boundaries program.  On our first group run, we ran 1 minute and walked 2 minutes.  We did this for 30 minutes.  I was sure I would die from the effort.  We did this to train for my first 5k.  A 5k is 3.1 miles.  On the first night of training, I remember feeling like a 5k might as well be to the moon because it seemed just as impossible.

Today, I am training for my first full marathon. I've completed 10 half marathons.  I've ran in all sorts of other races from the Ragnar Relay to several local 5ks.  I've also always run intervals.  Every race I've ever run was as an interval runner. I'm training to run my first race (Franklin Classic 10k) without intervals.  On Monday night at Tin Roof 2, Gail and I ran 6 miles without intervals. 

It was an amazing feeling to complete that run.  There have been many days when I was absolutely sure I could never give up my intervals.  There also days I was sure I could never run more than 5 miles or 13.1 miles.  On Saturday, I will run my first ever 16 miler! 

I'm a slow runner - back of the packer.  I've consistently run my miles in the 12:30 time range.  Recently, I've been able to run in the 11s!  But it's easy for me to forget that I started at 14 minute mile. 

I have so many more goals as a runner.  I want to be faster.  I want to run a half in each state.  I want to run a half without intervals. I could go on and on.  But right now I think it's important that I pause and look back and appreciate the progress I've made.  When I think about the progress I've made, I'm excited.  I feel strong and capable.  If you find yourself struggling, take a step back and appreciate the journey that's brought you here.  It's helped me.

Mark and I will be running our first marathon this October in Dublin with Team in Training.  We have to raise $10,000 in order to participate.  All the money we raise benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which is a charity we've actively supported and volunteered with the last few years.  Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer.  Please help us find a cure.  Visit our website to make a donation and for more information.  http://pages.teamintraining.org/tn/dublin11/emilymark 

Ragnar Relay Tennessee - What an Adventure!

The first ever Ragnar Relay was an awesome adventure!  Our team name was "First Out Last In".  We secretly hoped we wouldn't live up to our name.  We started the race at the earliest possible time - 6 a.m.  We had 12 runners on our team...6 in each van.  I was in van 1 with Joe, Karen, Ryan, Gail and Chrystyna.  Nicole and Mark were our fearless van 1 drivers.

My first run was at 6:45ish a.m.  I started in the dark and run for a couple miles before the sun came up.  The sunrise over the Tennessee River was absolutely amazing.  Well, until the dog started chasing at me and barking at me.  I think it was only for 3 or 4 minutes, but it seemed like 20 minutes or more.  The best part by far was the donkey in the middle of the one lane road...actually, by the time I got there it was back in it's fence.  But my team really hoped they would see me riding up on the donkey to finish my first leg.  I finished my 6.2 miles, sadly not on the donkey.  The picture to the right is one I stopped quickly to take...it was beautiful!

 

My second leg of the relay was at 8ish that night.  I was decked out in my night running gear - reflective vest, blinking red light and headlight.  Mark ran with me for this leg - thank goodness!  This leg started in Winchester and then continued into rural Franklin County.  What I learned is that after Winchester city limits there were almost no street lights and no shoulders on the roads.  It was a really challenging 5.7 miles.  Without Mark, I would have been a scared, crying mess.  By far this was my most challenging leg of the race.

After van 1 finished all of our second runs, we got to "sleep".  Though sleep is a very generous term.  We were all trying to sleep in the van.  We could have slept outside but it was freezing!  During our runs this time the weather turned quite nasty.  I luckily didn't have any rain, sleet or snow...but Chrystyna and Gail weren't as lucky!  Poor Ryan had a really hard time during the race.  He was battling time zone change, severe weather change and car sickness.  Unfortunately, he had to leave us during the second round of runs. 

When we woke up the next morning, Karen & Joe were both feeling really bad.  Joe pushed through his run.  Gail was sweet enough to change legs with Karen to give her more time feel better.  My third and final leg of the run was really good.  I was worried after the hard time I had the night before, but it was good and motivating. 

The one mile to go sign was our favorite site during the runs!

I am so proud of our team!  Much to our dismay, we did live up to our name.  We were the very last team to finish...but barely.  And technically, we finished ahead of several teams who didn't finish.  There were a few teams we started with and really wanted to beat.  "We got the runs" was the team we most wanted to beat.  We heard they had some difficulties and didn't exactly run the race the right way...so we were last to the finish line but to us we still beat "we got the runs".

During the race, I made the big mistake and said I would never do another Ragnar race again.  Of course, I have revised that decision and would LOVE to do another Ragnar.  I'm thinking Havard to Yale or Wisconsin to Chicago. 

Here we are at the finish line!  What an amazing experience!