On April 25th. 7:33 AM. I’ll be running my first Half Marathon.
I've never hit that mileage before, and honestly, I wasn't sure I'd even be able to try after barely running the last couple years.
I used to run cross country in middle and high school. It was something I loved, enjoyed, and was good at. But somewhere along the way, I stopped making time for it.
Maybe life got busy, school work picked up, or personal projects took over. I've been thinking about why I stopped running in the first place, and I realized I just stopped prioritizing something I used to enjoy.
My Junior year XC squad
So I had a “screw it” moment and signed myself up for the Champaign half marathon. I've paid the entry fee, so there's no backing out now haha.
Having that date on my calendar is a forcing function to show up and prepare. It feels good to have something concrete to work toward again. Something that isn't just another thing to think about doing, but an actual commitment I need to complete.
Signing up isn't just about running again. It's about giving myself an opportunity to set a hard goal and actually follow through with it. And about getting reacquainted with doing hard things instead of just thinking about doing them.
I started training back in October. Right now, I'm running about 3 miles a week. It's not anything crazy, but it's about staying consistent through this winter period when it's freezing and easy to make excuses. The plan is to ramp up to around 8 miles a week as we get closer to April.
I've been dealing with some knee pain recently that's been slowing me down, but that's not gonna stop me. I don't have a perfect training regimen right now, but the point is just to show up and get some miles in, even when conditions aren't perfect.
April 25th is gonna come up faster than I expect. And whether I'm ready or not, I'll be at that starting line.
So let’s get running! 🏃🏻♂️
-Max
(My Strava if anyone’s interested 😄)