A race with 18 year-old me?

When I decided to start this blog, I had a lot of things I knew I would eventually write about. I planned to have a series on being a newbie gardener, chronicles of my ongoing nutrition and fitness efforts, and battle stories about days spent with toddlers and preschoolers. There have certainly been many blogging ideas that have crossed my mind. But there is one thing in particular I have been thinking and dreaming about and I’m excited to share it with you now.

Beating My 18 Year-Old Self

I turned 30 years-old in October of 2013 and in honor of getting older, I set a goal of running my personal best time in a 5K race before I turn 31. In high school, I was primarily a mid-distance runner and I only had the chance to run a handful of 5K races my senior year before injuring myself. I was devastated when I couldn’t run the regional cross country meet especially since I knew my best time would have qualified me for the state meet.

Despite the fact that I have always thought I have a lot of potential and room for improvement as a distance runner, it is still scary for me to think about beating the speedy teenage me. For the 5K, my personal best from high school is 21:18 and my most recent race was slower then I ever ran in high school, a whopping 24:45 (though it was with no training plan in place). So, I need to shave off over 3 minutes from my most recent race… I can totally do it! Don’t you worry, I have a plan and will share more about that soon 🙂

I have indeed been sharing this goal and my training plan with close friends, but there’s a huge accountability that comes with sharing it publicly on this blog and in social media. So with a few ounces of courage, I invite you to follow along as one of my encouragers, as I embark upon this journey to meet my goal. There is much work to be done and I look forward to sharing my progress with you along the way.

For now I will leave you with some words from 18 year-old me:

Crossing the finish-line
to qualify for state in the 400 Meter Dash

Life is like a race. To get better you need experience and practice. You learn from a race just as you learn from what each day brings you. Someone is always trying to be on top and you never know who will be eating the worms that are kicked off your spikes. Each curve brings something new and unexpected. You find yourself striving to keep your knees up and not lose your composure. When you find the will and desire to keep going you may find yourself failing. Each time you pick yourself up with more courage than the last time, is the extra second you improve your time. Every time you practice, someone else could be practicing too, so work harder. You keep getting better and in the end when you find the determination, desire and heart to win, you will succeed.

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I am participating in the Blogging 101: Zero to Hero Challenge. This post was Day 3: A Penny for Your Thoughts