In the days following Around the Bay, it's been an odd feeling. I'm both proud, relieved, and still kind of in shock. There was so much training and anticipation building up to it...and now it's over. Mind you, I really am just viewing it as a milestone, not an "end point".
That being said, I've enjoyed some long walks and easy runs this week and look forward to a run this weekend as well.
After completing my first "big race", I've realized, that I really do need to sign up for other things to keep my momentum going. I'm pretty consistent in the way that running has become a "habit" in my life, but I think like most people, I need to have goals. Concrete goals, too. Not just "run more" or "run faster".
When mulling over my next goals, here's what I've come up with: I want to train and improve my 5 km and 10 km times so I will be signing up for some shorter races and enjoying some shorter routes on my home and with my hubby. Not that I will ever be speedy, but I kind of miss the joy of shorter runs...because over the past few months, most of the "celebratory" runs were the LSD's where I was building up my distance. That being said, I also would like to do 2 Half Marathons this year...LSDs are still on my radar. I need to sign up for them soon as so many are already sold out, but I'm going to take a look this weekend and sign up for a couple.
I've had a lot of people ask me this week: "What's next? A full marathon?!" Nah, not this year. Maybe eventually but in a lot of ways, I know I'm not ready. I found the last few weeks of ATB were quite taxing...not physically really but time-consuming...and I know that tackling a marathon can't be taken lightly. And when I'm ready to do it, I want to do it right. I want to put the time in, build up properly and enjoy the experience of training. That's how I felt about my ATB experience and I wouldn't want to do it any other way.
How are you feeling about setting goals for your runs? Do you feel a "let down" after a big race? How do you deal? Right now, my mantra comes from one of my favourite Jay-Z songs: "On to the Next One..." :)
Saturday 31 March 2012
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Around the Bay...and then some...
I've made some attempts at blogging before but gained a renewed and revived interest today as I attended a fantastic session this morning on social media and really...how to use it BETTER but more importantly, how to use it in a way that fits your life. I've always loved the concept of blogging and doing more writing "for fun". And why not? This is a time in my life where it seems that I'm having a lot of fun and making some new discoveries so why not blog about it?!
This past weekend, I had the exceptional experience of running in my very first Around the Bay in Hamilton, ON. It really was a great experience. I still consider myself a "newbie" runner by all definitions. I've ran some 5 kms and some 10 km races but when a friend suggested this 30km run to me last fall, at first I thought it was a ridiculous notion, but I REALLY liked the idea of signing up for a run that would keep me on track and motivated to train all winter.
I learned a lot about myself over the past few months:
1) I'm a lot more disciplined than I thought I would be. I pretty much kept on my "training plan" all winter long. I sometimes had to change things up because well...life happens...but overall, I kept things consistent. Something I would never have given myself credit for in the past.
2) I'm an athlete. Someone called me an "athlete" and I thought it sounded ridiculous and a little conceited but you know what....it's true. It's a state of mind and it comes with dedication and truly enjoying what you do. I think I've found that I have both when it comes to running. Who knew the girl who used to duck in gym class would consider herself an "athlete"?! I'm still ducking...just now I actually like to run while I do it!
3) 30 km isn't impossible. After months of training, the anticipation leading up to the run almost made me sick--I felt so NERVOUS. Once the actual run began, I actually settled into my run and was able to think of it as "just another Sunday run" that happened to include a few thousand other people...and who knew that the kilometers would kind of actually fly by? Seriously. I realized that while I could have easily let my nerves get the best to me, it was more important to realize that the actual race was just a small part of the whole journey. No matter the outcome of the race, I knew I would have the satisfaction of knowing that there had been a whole lotta really great runs that had gotten me there. That's kind of a cool feeling and it helped calm me down.
All in all, the experience of ATB was such a positive experience! Now...just need to look ahead and sign up for something else! :)
This past weekend, I had the exceptional experience of running in my very first Around the Bay in Hamilton, ON. It really was a great experience. I still consider myself a "newbie" runner by all definitions. I've ran some 5 kms and some 10 km races but when a friend suggested this 30km run to me last fall, at first I thought it was a ridiculous notion, but I REALLY liked the idea of signing up for a run that would keep me on track and motivated to train all winter.
I learned a lot about myself over the past few months:
1) I'm a lot more disciplined than I thought I would be. I pretty much kept on my "training plan" all winter long. I sometimes had to change things up because well...life happens...but overall, I kept things consistent. Something I would never have given myself credit for in the past.
2) I'm an athlete. Someone called me an "athlete" and I thought it sounded ridiculous and a little conceited but you know what....it's true. It's a state of mind and it comes with dedication and truly enjoying what you do. I think I've found that I have both when it comes to running. Who knew the girl who used to duck in gym class would consider herself an "athlete"?! I'm still ducking...just now I actually like to run while I do it!
3) 30 km isn't impossible. After months of training, the anticipation leading up to the run almost made me sick--I felt so NERVOUS. Once the actual run began, I actually settled into my run and was able to think of it as "just another Sunday run" that happened to include a few thousand other people...and who knew that the kilometers would kind of actually fly by? Seriously. I realized that while I could have easily let my nerves get the best to me, it was more important to realize that the actual race was just a small part of the whole journey. No matter the outcome of the race, I knew I would have the satisfaction of knowing that there had been a whole lotta really great runs that had gotten me there. That's kind of a cool feeling and it helped calm me down.
All in all, the experience of ATB was such a positive experience! Now...just need to look ahead and sign up for something else! :)
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