I run for...big dreams.

Marathon 1, 2, 3 & soon to be 4!

One run. 2 miles. That is all that stands between me and 26.2 miles. This week I have continued to taper. I always get so restless at this point in the training. I'm running less and it feels weird but I have to trust that I have done everything I have needed to do the last 18 weeks. 18 weeks of 350 miles. I'm at 550 miles for the year so far. I managed to get in two 20 mile runs this year, something I haven't been able to do since marathon training year #1. No illness and no injuries. I've got this.

This week has been an easy one. 6 miles on Monday, 2 mile walk yesterday, and 4 miles this morning. I will rest for the next two days and then do a short 2 mile shake out run on Saturday, the day before the marathon. This last little run is important in order to improve blood flow and reduce pre-marathon jitters. Then...race day.

This year I'm feeling more at peace with marathon day than I ever have before. Once again I am amazed at the places running takes me. Have I ran a marathon before? Yes. Have I ran Chicago before? Yes. But I have never been in this position before where I have 3 marathons under my belt and I'm running a race that I have run before. It's comforting and familiar. I think that has ultimately led me to be at peace about it.

 

As with my last 3 marathons, when training comes to an end and the marathon is over, I will be thinking about what's next. I will most likely be running another marathon next year. I can't help myself! Sure, I've imagined being someone who runs whenever I have "free time" or someone who runs occasionally for exercise. Then I could devote more time to cycling or swimming or painting or...whatever. I think about it but I know that I would be deeply unsatisfied and unfulfilled. I have no idea how I got here but I know without a doubt that running is my passion. As marathon season comes to an end, I look ahead with BIG dreams for my continued journey in running.

Running is important for all the reasons I have presented in this blog. One of the biggest things that I wanted to accomplish by starting this blog is to show that running is for everyone. It can change your life. Dream BIG and never let your fear hold you back. With running, anything is possible. Truly.

Happy running,
Amanda

*** I can still collect donations for the American Cancer Society up until Monday, October 26th!!! If you have not donated yet, do it now! This is for a good cause and our team is so close to reaching our goal of 1.5 million dollars!! Go to the link here to donate! Thank you!***

I run for...fulfillment.

...for fulfillment!

Today is National Running Day!! I logged my 6 miles this morning on the treadmill while watching the documentary Desert Runners. This movie inspired me to write this blog post today because I think my goals have changed quite a bit from when I started training for my first marathon. I’ve said many times that my first marathon was for me, to prove to myself that I could do it. Well, now I know I can do it. I’ve done it 3 times!! My continued pursuit of running, training for marathons, and pushing myself farther now comes from something innate within me.

In the beginning posts of this blog, I talk about the person I used to be; always scared of life. I felt crippled by my inadequacies and therefore, frozen in time, unable to move forward. It was no easy task working through this. It was a journey that took several years; several years of soul searching and rediscovery that ultimately made me who I am today. I’ve learned a lot about this “new” me over the years and my triumph over training and running my first marathon has taught me that my running adventures fulfill me. 

Every run is an adventure. Every race. Every marathon. No one run is ever the same as the last. I discover new things about myself on a run ALL. THE. TIME. It still amazes me although I should be used to it by now. Today as I was running, watching Desert Runners, I felt something stir deep inside of me. There it was….that desire for more and more challenges, for adventure, for fulfillment. About Desert Runners: this documentary follows competitors attempting to run four desert ultra marathons (250Ks) in a year – a Grand Slam. (Watch it on Netflix!) To most, this sounds absolutely insane. Not me. I am truly inspired and stirred by my desire for adventure to go out and do this. Seriously. As I was watching this movie, I would get so emotional watching them start and struggle and then ultimately finish the race. I know that feeling! It’s something that is absolutely indescribable. But you see it in fellow runners, fellow adventure seekers. It’s what drives us. It’s what drives me.

I will probably not set out next year to do this Grand Slam but as crazy as it sounds, it is a goal of mine. I would definitely like to get my feet wet this year doing an ultra – a 50K perhaps or a 24 hour race. My list of goals, challenges, adventures, seems never ending. I want to do it all and nothing can stop me!

Not rain...

Nor snow...

Nor heat...

Nor injury!

I will persevere because I am a runner!

Happy National Running Day!

Amanda