Keep Moving Forward

Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day.  For those of you who were able to run outside, I'm a little jealous.  As I spent yet another run on the treadmill yesterday, I yearned for the great outdoors....to be able to see trees, animals, other people, etc.  To move forward.  And although I'm not really moving forward in the literal sense on that treadmill, I'm very quickly moving forward figuratively with every step I take.

I have been running for the past 15 years...half of my life.  The very first time I ran a cross country race, my time for the 4K was 23:47.  I know this is not a very fast time for a high schooler, but I was so pleased that I was able to finish the distance.  I think that my only goal that year was to finish my races.  And I did.  I ran at districts that year as a sophomore, and I think I was third from last.  But hey, I met my goal, right?!

My goals have always been internal...what can I prove to myself? How far can I go? How fast can I go?  My senior year of high school, I decided to train for the Lincoln Half-Marathon.  I finished the race in 2:03 and immediately had a new goal: break two hours.  Although it took me several years, and several attempts, I finally did this.  Every time I was able to break a personal record, I found myself wondering...is this all I have? Or can I do better?  Each time, I fine myself believing that, yes, I CAN get better.

Last year, I broke an 8 year personal record in the 10K at the Leprechaun Chase.  My previous PR, set in 2005, was 42:42.  I ran this during college my junior year.  As time went on, I was starting to doubt that I'd ever run faster than that.  After spending quite a bit of quality time on my treadmill last winter, I was able to turn in a 42:40 in March.  Similarly, I'm not-so-secretly hoping to PR in the half this spring. Can I go sub-1:36?

As I head into this spring racing season, I wonder...can I do it again? I'm working my tail off, so I hope so.  I'm starting to wonder when my age will catch up to me.  How much longer can I realistically expect to get faster? When will I have to restructure my goals?  But I think the most important thing is to keep moving forward.  Keep lacing up those shoes.  Keep believing in new goals and new personal records. Keep dreaming.