This past year has been an astounding ride for me. This week marks
exactly one year since I ran my very first marathon, The Nike Women’s Marathon
in San Francisco.
In 11 days I will once again be standing on the start line of the
NWM in SF. Nothing is going to be more amazing than to be there with my two
wonderful running companions, Karen and Elizabeth.
Last year at this time we were arriving in San Fran ready
for the excitement that Nike had waiting for us.
This will be my third marathon ever. I am
experiencing extreme burnout. Somewhere along the road this year I lost that
love and desire to run and in so many ways that makes me sad and it hurts me because running was my safe place, my haven, my place to go when the world didn't make sense.
Running is what saved me from myself, it is what gave me the
courage to pull out of destructive behavior and it is what gave me the courage
to be happy and be in love with who I am. The other day a friend said to me maybe you no
longer have that same love and joy for running you once did because you no
longer need running to survive.
I've made the tough decision to pull back from marathons for
the time being. I have not given up on my dream to one day run in the Boston
Marathon but at the moment I need a break. A lot has happened in my life in the
past year and I believe that right now I need to devote less time to running
and more time to other activities that are helping me in my recovery journey.
Lately I have been doing a lot of climbing. There is a rush I
get from climbing the side of a mountain. When you get to the summit enjoying
the majestic view you could never get from the ground. It’s been an incredible
experience and much like running I have been able to learn new things about myself, about
my determination, my strength and my love for having new experiences.
I’ll one day return to training for and running marathons
and I’ll chase that Boston goal once again but for now I need to step back, reevaluate
my goals, make new ones and once again find that love of running.
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