One Goal

For me there wasn’t much running in 2014. Getting injured early in the year can put a damper on any plans for running. And getting a really fun injury does more than put a damper on running it puts a cloud like the one that hangs over Eeyore on your running plans.

 

Last year my friends participated in a wide variety of races. And it looked amazing. There was the Ragnar, Marine Corps Marathon, Newport 10 Miler, tons of races in VA Beach and Florida. As I looked at the pics on social media I was a little envious because everyone was having so much fun.

 

So now that we are onto a new year I decided I need to find a realistic goal. My race calendar is currently very wide open and I plan to keep it that way for quite some time. And while I would love to have some grand goal of getting a PR in a 10k or running another half marathon my goal is much milder.

 

This year I have one very simple goal, I want to run a 5k. I want to be able to run all 3.1 miles. And I want to do it without really hurting myself.

 

To my friends who are onto big races, good luck. I will see you at the finish line.

I run like a girl

I run like a girl.

 

I’ve always run like a girl.

 

When I was six years old learning to play soccer I ran like a girl.

 

When I played basketball in high school I played like a girl.

When I was in college and practiced keeper with the men’s team, I defended the goal like a girl.

 

When I surf and charge head high waves, I surf like a girl.

 

Every marathon, half marathon, 10k, and 5k I’ve competed in, I’ve run like a girl.

Everything I do, I do like a girl.

 

To me it’s never been a bad thing, I run like a girl because I am a girl.

 

I am proud to be a girl.

I refuse to run like a boy, throw like a boy, surf like a boy, or do anything like a boy. In the same way I don’t think someone should try to do something like a girl.

 

Just be who you are, and if you are a girl, go out and run like one!

Now that is Dopey!

Run Disney announced a new race, the Dopey Challenge. This is a spin off from the Goofy and a half challenge that Run Disney currently holds during Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. The Goofy Challenge requires you to complete a half marathon on Saturday and Sunday you complete the full marathon. Yes it is goofy and yes I have done it.

Many of the Goofy runners were also entering the 5k and self-proclaiming it as the “Dopey.” Disney decided to capitalize on this insanity and created an official Dopey challenge. And to top it off, Disney added a new distance, the 10k. To officially complete the challenge a Dopey runner needs to run a 5k on Thursday, 10k on Friday, half marathon on Saturday, and a full marathon on Sunday. Yes it is Dopey, and after the race was announced I really wanted to sign up and do it. Thankfully for me the announcement of the race and the sign up were several weeks apart.

My family is an important part of my running. They support me, they travel with me, and they watch me eat enough food to feed a small country the week prior to the race. Because my family is so encouraging I am able to compete in as many events as I do.

My family was integral in my goal of completing the first 5 Princess Marathons. I have to applaud my family and thank them for all the support. It was not an easy five years, but we made it. It wasn’t so bad when we lived in Florida, but after a move to Rhode Island it was not easy managing the schedules of my husband a full time college student and my daughter a full time high school student. Thanks to their support and the help of my parents I was able to attend each race and become a Perfect Princess.

This year while I was at the race a thought occurred to me; maybe I should stick with the race until I do 10, maybe 20. But at some point the race would consume me and it would be so selfish. Running would become all about me, when the reality is I need everyone around me so I can keep going to races and enjoying the sport.

And as I considered the Dopey, I was reminded of the things we are trying to accomplish here at home. Pay off bills is a big one. We are trying to get prepared for me to retire from the military. Finishing 20 years in the military is an accomplishment in itself. And one of the things we need to do is make sure we are financially healthy.

I recognized jut how selfish it would be if I opted to run. If I have learned anything about running it is about generosity of spirit. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, NYC marathoners ran through the city giving bottles of water and other items to the victims of the storm. After two bombs exploded at the finish of the Boston Marathon runners ran straight to blood banks to donate blood for those in need.

After witnessing all of these other generous runners, how could I be selfish? It contradicts what running is about. As the clock to the sign up of the Dopey counted down, I made peace with myself; I was not going to run the Dopey. It was not the right time. If I did, it would have been for all of the wrong reasons. Yes it is the inaugural running of the Dopey, but it wasn’t reason enough to go.

As I read updates on Facebook and twitter seeing the race was almost full, my heart ached with longing. I admit, I really wanted to sign up. But I couldn’t. It was not the right thing to do. Running a race because it is something that I want to do and not considering how it would impact the people in my life, that is Dopey.