I've been trying to get in the race scene in Houston for a while. Shortly after I arrived here I was expecting so I decided to postpone. Mind you that I was 10 weeks pregnant when I finished my first 5K, so pregnancy is usually not an issue when it comes to my running.
Now that I am holding my beautiful third child and ready to race, I have given up twice on racing. The first time I gave up on a race it was because my running partner couldn't make it. She got injured and stopped training. It was also a busy weekend for us at the church. Today's race was supposed to be my debut in Texas running. I was going to do this and even had lined up a sitter to keep my kids. It was also going to be the first time I ran solo, meaning, no family or friends to cheer me on. This week I decided to cancel with the sitter (thus saving money) and made up my mind not to run.
Running in Texas has been more of a challenge because I miss the running community I had in NC. I had friends in every race I ran. I had friends encouraging me weekly to keep running. I had friends who had been to Boston and back and were serious runners who kept encouraging me to go on. Here I have pursued several people to join me but I haven't found the same support.
I do have a friend who ran in the park with me and is an amazing source of encouragement. She lives a little far and is currently training to finish another half.
I am saying all of this to say that I could not replicate the same conditions I had in NC: I tried to encourage a buddy to sign up with me and that didn't work. I tried to look for encouragement from others who see me weekly and that didn't work. I also took a good look at my life in general. I am not back to "normal." Racing would be a treat - I love the bagels at the finish line - but it would also put more pressure into my life.
I will keep running and creating a good running base (3 - 5 miles three times a week) so that I can seriously pursue training for the Chicago Marathon. Maybe my season to do 5Ks is over. It is difficult to hear it ain't if the person speaking is not out there training hard and with sweat marks in their t-shirt to prove it. I decided that putting a hold on racing doesn't mean that I gave up on finishing the Chicago Marathon. I will continue to do that which brings me joy: running. What I cannot do is to add unnecessary pressure to my life right now. My husband and kids need me to be relaxed and not horrified all the time for not making one day of training. They also need me healthy, that's why I will keep working on my running basis and adding strength training to it.
God has a nice way to bless me. My friend girl who came to visit me training with me one day and really encouraged me to pursue strength training again. She showed me some new things that will help me as a runner (she's an amazing runner herself). So today, instead of celebrating another finish line crossed, I celebrate the fact that I have not given up on my dream. I have chosen to do it on my own pace.
QUESTION • What are the dreams you have put on hold?
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