WARNING: This Blog doesn’t have photos.
This past weekend, I attempted another race–only one week after finishing The North Face Endurance Challenge Series 50k in MA at the 2017 November Project #5ummit. A whole new hype. More traveling (by car this time). Another race to break my body down. Or so I thought.
I toed the line on Saturday morning, just like the 6,000+ other marathoners in Two Harbors, MN for the annual running of Grandma’s marathon. I however, had a different agenda. I knew from the moment the gun went off that I would not finish the race. I was and still am okay with that.
Until recently, I’ve always been an obsessive runner. It stems from my addictive and extreme personality. I don’t just like to do things, I DO them. Like many other things in my life, I obsess about running. Yes, obsess is still in present-tense. I still do it, although this past weekend marks the first step to an active and long-standing recovery.
My Grandma’s race ran 18 or so miles short. I raced along side of a couple of goal sub-3 hour runners for ~8 miles. I got to know them, cheered for them, and told them they could do it. After those 8ish miles, I dropped out at the intersection of Scenic Highway 61 and Alseth Road, never to hop back in the race. I cheered for my other friends running, screaming and flailing as loud as I could and then promptly hiked up the road to the non-scenic parallel Highway 61, caught a ride with my fiancé and traveled down to Duluth where I watched the finish of the race. I watched the elites come through, led by Elisha Barno who won his third consecutive Grandma’s marathon. I watched many friends stride by. I watched the Marathon finish with more friends, happy to be in the company of them. I laughed and smiled when I explained to them why I dropped. They understood.
After 13 years of running/racing and many injuries interspersed, I finally took a stab at listening to what my body had to say. For some, racing everyday/every week is okay. For me? Not so much. I can’t believe it took me this long to figure it out, but man does it feel good.
Morals of the story:
1.Listen to your body. When it’s trying to tell you something, don’t ignore it. The warning signs are in place for a reason.
2. Let running be fun, letting it become an obsessive habit takes all the fun and most of the purpose out of it.
That’s all!
<3 Holly
WORKOUT TOMORROW: June 21st @ Mill City Museum, 6:27am!
FRIDAY: June 23rd Location TBD, 6:27am!
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