AJ Runs Several Ks...and Writes About It

On Saturday, May 6, I returned to half marathon racing. It had been quite a hiatus, and my previous half marathon, was completed with a blown out IT band, so I did have to balance high hopes and realistic expectations. After all, a lot has changed since that last race. They say that age is just a number, and by that logic, a half marathon is just miles. 13.1 long and hilly miles in this case, and now officially in the next decade of my life. Yeah, yeah, just a number. Last year, still in my 30s, I toyed with the idea of returning to racing and with running the Door County Half Marathon. We were in Peninsula State Park for our annual Mother’s Day weekend, and the race was taking place. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back to some really good training.

Our plan - always - is to be in Door County for our Mother’s Day celebration, so why not sign up?! Well, back to numbers. Two children, one partner, too many hours at work each week, one bike ride/race to each weekend, and a big old 350 mile ride coming up to balance training around. I’ll be honest, as someone with high functioning, anxiety, I put a ton of pressure on myself, and I hold myself to standards I’d never hold others to; I pride myself on the grace I give to others but never afford myself much of that valuable kindness. I have immensely high expectations for myself, and for life. I went into Saturday, wishing I’d had more time to train, wishing I had a lower number for my intended finish time. Wishing, even, that the race was actually Mother's Day weekend this year and I had seven more days to train. But as I settled into racing, much of that anxiety lifted. I was in the moment, in the race, and slow(er than intended) is still doing it! I am really lucky to have a wise fellow climber/ runner/ mama in my world who reminds me of that! I was especially mindful to stop comparing myself to others, be that by pace, running form, or physique, and instead took joy in each step that my body carried me, each mile I achieved. I got to share in this with those two babies, one partner, and my two parents. If that isn’t lucky, I don’t know what is!

The rest of the weekend was as wonderful as a Door County always is. We dodged the flies (Add another number to the list: zero, as in zero flies consumed…it was a feat as it’s lake fly season in Door County), got outside, hit our favorite breakfast and dinner spots, tried something new, splashed in the pool, and enjoyed each other’s company. It was a perfect, perfect weekend and race!