That's right. I've taken away "running." Me, the girl who loves to run (and I do love to run). Me, the person who did a marathon with the intentions of doing an ultra. Me, who found her niche here in GSO first through her feet, THEN through her legs. I have decided, for the immediate future at least, not to relace my running shoes.
Why?
Why indeed.
First off, there's my own body. As recent events have shown, I am not Wonder Woman (what? really?). My knees, and other joints, have probably gone through more than I realize, both due to my past activities and my past idiocities.
Second off, there's the bike. I love riding it. Hands down, I view riding my bike as something I get to do, not something I have to do. Running, especially when I was in marathon training mode, never attained that level of "yippie!!"
Third off, I'm good at riding my bike. I mean, I'm no Kristen Armstrong. I'm not even on par with most of the awesome women who live in my area (you know who you are). But I think I've got some talent that could be tapped into.
Fourth off, linked to Third off, and probably Most Importantly off, I deeply desire to become the best I can be on the bike. Not "the best," but "the best I can be." Hopefully, this will turn out to be pretty good. Hopefully, and please do not laugh, this will be good enough to compete in, and win, races.
I never had that drive or desire in running. I never repeated hills, or ran laps, or compared splits, or found out my different paces (5k, 10k, etc etc), or calculated my HR zones. I viewed races as fun group events to be completed, and completion alone stood as the ultimate goal. Winning? Even placing? Who cared? Give me the schwag, the armwarmers, the shirt, the coffee mug, and I was clam happy. Bring on the post race pig out and send me home to bed.
Not so on the bike.
Better. Faster. Stronger. I never knew that there was this type of person inside of me in any sort of athletic venue, but there she is.
And she thinks that, for now, in order to truly focus on attaining her goals of "best she can be" on the bike, running needs to take a backseat. A hiatus. A see you later friend.
Because I can't do both, not really. I mean, I COULD, but then I would always wonder: if five years go by, and the best I can be on the bike isn't as good as I want to be on the bike, was it because of the running?
Fifth off, I've got what it takes outside of myself. I've got commitment in equipment. I've got the means and the luck to be surrounded by people who can actually help me attain my goals. Why not give it 100% on my end, if fate has owned up to its part of the deal?
Now some disclaimers to all who may be reading this post and freaking out, thinking that I will become a waif, obsessed, have no life, or any/all of the aforementioned options. I have put safety measures in place:
1) My awesome coach, Ashley Powell, who will safely and effectively help me turn into an ass kicking machine without letting me kick my own ass for the worst. Only positive self ass kicking is allowed.
2) My amazingfriends, making sure I don't disappear from the social scene.
3) Real responsibilities (a house, pets, a housemate) to keep my sense of equilibrium in check.
So for now, no more running in GSO for me. I absolutely see this as a temporary situation. If after three or four seasons, it's clear that the best I can be on the bike isn't worth giving up running for, I will pull on the Nike Structure Triax+s and hit Laurel Bluff asap. Also, with 40+ years at least of potential running ahead of me, in the grand scheme of things, this off period will only be positive in terms of my longevity.
Goodbye trainers.
Hello training.
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