The fond memory of a runner

Time to hammer...

11:00 pm. POW
We're running.
Curve.
Straight-away.
Get out of the trash.
Curve.
Straight-away.
Three to go.
Relax, and get comfy.

Somewhere deep inside me, I know. I don't have to think. My body knows what to do. I'm running harder than I've ever begun a race before. Tonight's the night. This is the year. Senior year. I'm going to make it to regionals if I have to grow wings and fly across the finish line.

Fifty meters to the 800m mark.
Get ready.
Half way there.
Time to hammer...


This is the lap I've been visualizing all season. This is the lap I've been training for for two years. This is the purpose for the agony I have voluntarily endured for weeks, months. I'm breaking a trend, the barrier that has kept me from prolonging said agony for another two weeks since freshman year. This is the most crucial lap of my life (little did I know, then).

Hammering.
Good position.
1, 2, 3, me.
No, wait--
I am 3!
400 meters left.
Hold it.
Hold it.

The last lap is all about heart. Strategy has nothing to do with it, not intentionally, anyway.

300 meters.
1, 2, me...
200 meters.
1, 2, 3...me.
No!
150...I want it more.
100 meters.
  
These last 100 meters are filled with pain, dread, fear, and hunger. My legs have never run this fast (I swear I grew shorter with each step). I pass my target, the third place runner at the time, on the outside at the 100 meter mark. First and second place are inches in front of her. She is blocked in, nowhere to go. To my former coach and others, I look as if I had planned it this way. Strategy. I wish I could take credit. Really, I am just determining in my mind that I CANNOT BARE ANOTHER "RUNNER-UP" FINISH.

 ...

The four of us crossed the finish line within two seconds of each other. Had my mind been present, maybe I could have summoned enough strength to take first. But that wasn't important. I was moving on. I had earned regionals. I fell into the arms of a friend, not strong enough to carry my body another step. The White Gazelle finished only seconds later. When she gathered her bearings, she came over to congratulate me, giving me a light shove on the shoulders out of excitement. I went down like a sack of potatoes; my heart and strength were still on the track.

Goals to reach goals

Now that it's official, I can finally share with you what I've been excited about for months: if God allows it, I will be running my first marathon in January. Kat and I registered for the Disney Marathon a couple of days ago, and training begins in August.

In order to prep myself for training, I thought it would be beneficial to sit down and do some goal setting. I used to hate when my coaches would require us to write down our goals for the season. I thought it was a waste of time; after all, I know what I expect of myself. What does it matter to anyone else? However, being on my own (running wise) for almost a year now, I've come to realize that writing out those goals for other people to read and know served as a form of accountability. When others know what your ambitions, dreams, expectations are, they can provide the encouragement you need to reach them. Furthermore, it never hurts to put your goals on paper, sort of like signing a lease--through this act, you are declaring your commitment to follow through with whatever you have set out to accomplish.

So here is my list of goals, which will probably and hopefully grow throughout the next six months:

1. Discipline myself by getting up early enough to complete a quality workout. The heat and sun serve as mental barriers, so I must strive to overcome these obstacles, even if that means taking the longer road around them.
2. Hydrate. "Hydration, hydration, hydration," is what my college coach always preached. Typically, I let my body decide when it's lacking hydration, nutrients, vitamins, electrolytes, and so forth. But I could definitely drink more water in order to prevent dehydration, not just to cure it.
3. Keep my legs healthy. As I've mentioned before, shin splints have haunted my running dreams since the very beginning. And since senior year of high school, I have been plagued with various minor, nagging injuries that could have been prevented if I had only taken better care of myself. In order to save my legs, I will need to stretch often, replace my running shoes before they start causing problems, and allow my body time to rest between workouts. This may also mean taking two to three days off at a time (which is no problem for me).
4. Develop an efficient workout routine. With a marathon in sight, one cannot, or at least should not, simply put on miles. Just like in every other sport, running often relies on strategic planning. Long runs, speed workouts, recovery runs, cross training, rest. A workout schedule will have to be determined in order to maintain effectiveness.

I can't wait to begin training, but in the meantime, my main goal is to develop a firm base while keeping my legs healthy. This means slowly building mileage and giving myself plenty of time to recover. As August draws near, I will be researching marathon guides and developing my own training manual. I'll be sure to post my schedule once it is developed.

I hope I can count on all of my readers to send encouragement from time to time. Thanks for reading.