Since Anna's blog is private (and inaccessible to most), I copied her post about her recent trail run. She wrote about it much more philosophically than I did, and I love it.
I'm so grateful that I have a body that allows me to run. Running has proved to work wonders for my stress, and for my physical and mental well-being. I've evolved into a new "Anna" through running and training for races.
This past weekend, I ran my first trail race. Going into it, I had NO idea what to expect. I actually thought it would be a nice path through a wooded tree area. Boy, I was WRONG! The trail included running through rivers, up and along such narrow pathways on the side of mountains, and through legit mud holes.
It didn't help that I forgot to wear my Garmin GPS watch. Not only was I clueless to where I was running, I had no idea how far I had run and how much longer I needed go. The race became a total mental feat.
I could hear myself breathing heavily. I could hear the pounding of my feet, as I tried to hold myself up, running down steep mountains. I could feel the sweat running down the side of my face.
This was the hardest 5 miles I had ever run.
And I just kept running.
People were passing me. I kept in mind that my feet and legs were allowing me to run, and that I'd continue to allow them to carry me to the finish line.
As I came out of the final forest area, I could see ahead of me the last stretch of running before the beloved finish. The little clock was ticking 1:01, and I was determined to cross the finish by 1:02.
I made it. And I came out winning 3rd place in my age category.
I am strong. I can do hard things.
I'm so grateful that I have a body that allows me to run. Running has proved to work wonders for my stress, and for my physical and mental well-being. I've evolved into a new "Anna" through running and training for races.
This past weekend, I ran my first trail race. Going into it, I had NO idea what to expect. I actually thought it would be a nice path through a wooded tree area. Boy, I was WRONG! The trail included running through rivers, up and along such narrow pathways on the side of mountains, and through legit mud holes.It didn't help that I forgot to wear my Garmin GPS watch. Not only was I clueless to where I was running, I had no idea how far I had run and how much longer I needed go. The race became a total mental feat.
I could hear myself breathing heavily. I could hear the pounding of my feet, as I tried to hold myself up, running down steep mountains. I could feel the sweat running down the side of my face.
This was the hardest 5 miles I had ever run.
And I just kept running.
People were passing me. I kept in mind that my feet and legs were allowing me to run, and that I'd continue to allow them to carry me to the finish line.
As I came out of the final forest area, I could see ahead of me the last stretch of running before the beloved finish. The little clock was ticking 1:01, and I was determined to cross the finish by 1:02.
I made it. And I came out winning 3rd place in my age category.
I am strong. I can do hard things.
booyah! If that line at the end " and I was determined to cross the finish at 1:02" shows anything, it shows that you have got an athlete mind, not to mention the drive to win! You go girl!
ReplyDeleteGood job Anna, you are a champ and it was a very difficult run but you kept going, I was very worried about you and am happy that you did not get sucked into the mud or washed away in the rivers we had to cross. Thanks for staying safe and alive!
ReplyDeleteAwww, thanks!!! That was easily hands down the hardest 5 mile run of my life! So fun though.
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