The Running Project

Again...long time between posts. No excuses to be made or had. But decisions have been made that will affect the directions of our athletics.

A funny thing has happened-Jeff and I are getting older. And as we get older, we have both started to see life in a different way. In a sense we are getting more mature and wiser-some days are better then others. It is not all athletics all the time. Life is more then that. But we would be kidding ourselves if we were to say that athletics is not a big part of our lives; it still is. There are just other things is life we want to live and experience in addition to athletics.

Done (for now) are the days of training until 2-3pm on the weekends. Done are the days bundling up in layers of cycling gear to brave the wind. Done are the days of dreading of smelling like chlorine day after day. We have taken on a new project: RUNNING.

It has been about 10 years since I have done just that. When I left college in 1999, I gave up my last track season because I already had two science degrees and a job offer. What I didn't know was that I would also give up running for about 2 years because the man I was dating didn't like competitive women. Needless to say, that relationship did not work out, but it did get me to Colorado. I came back to running for a few months, got injured, met Jeff, started competing in duathlons, moved to triathlons, and now I am ready to go back to running.

Then: Junior Year (20 yrs old) at West Virginia Wesleyan. Davis and Elkins XC Meet-1998

Now: 32 yrs old. Mile 24 or 25 at the Erie Marathon-2010

It started this summer when I decided to run a marathon. 12 weeks of just running. I enjoyed every minutes of it-even when I was yelling and cursing on the ending miles of a 20-22 mile run. I finished the marathon, pleased with my first attempt, but wondering what I could do if I did it for more then 12 weeks. I spoke to a few people about it and made the decision-I am going to focus on my running for the next 12-18 months.

And with that decision came more decisions. I reflected back on my college days and what allowed to me to make big gains while running. I found and joined forces with an amazing and supportive group of women. I felt that having a group to support, challenge, and suffer with would be an imperative step in this project. I employed the knowledge of local professionals to help me strength my body as a whole and develop more flexibility--I forgot how much pounding your body takes from just running. And I decided it was time to work on my limiting agent when it comes to running--the mental side.

The decisions and players are made and set in motion. Now it is time to see where this project will take me.

Rock On,

JK