#PivotPhl Part 2

2020 for me was supposed to be the year of the comeback.

At the beginning of the 2019 fall race season, I found myself injured after attempting a half marathon where my foot wound up in an unmarked pothole. That injury changed my perspective on running & I told myself that 2020 was going to be the year to check off some pretty big & exciting running goals. I made it through the lotteries of two world major marathons & had my heart set on breaking a 2-hour half marathon.

I started working with a running coach to help make those goals a reality but little did we know any chance at in-person racing was going to get canceled after March. Like many of us, I didn't stop my training and used running as a way to cope with what was happening in the world around me. Following a training plan still gave me a feeling of "normalcy".

I pivoted from my original goals and decided to focus on becoming a stronger athlete both physically and mentally for whenever races would return. I ran a few virtual races and tried to push myself to see what I was capable of in an environment outside of an organized race. One of the biggest factors that got in my way was the voice inside my head- the "I can't", "I can go faster next time" etc. I never realized how much this impacted my running performance because I was so used to the noise from the crowds and other runners drowning that negative talk out.

I never took the time to focus on the mental side of training because it was always just "let's do the work to go from race to race" and I honestly did not see the importance of it.

When in-person racing slowly started to come back in the spring of 2021 I decided to go after that sub-2-hour half marathon. I worked hard during training and thought I had everything set to finish that half strong. So many things happened on race day that were outside of my control- weather, stomach issues etc. but one thing I could've done better was having a better mindset.

If the weird season of 2020 running taught me anything it's that- running is meant to be fun. I am not an elite athlete. I run because I love being faced with a new challenge every time I lace up my shoes and head out the door. I knew that if I was going to prep to run my first world major marathon in the fall I wanted the experience to include two things- fun and a positive mindset. I am happy to say that I crossed the finish line of the 2021 Chicago Marathon with the biggest runner's high that I still feel a month later.

Because I had to pivot my running, I grew tremendously as both a runner and person in ways I probably would not have pre-pandemic.

One of the biggest pieces of this growth was taking that love for running and becoming a certified running coach. While I only started running in my 20s , it still has had a major impact on who I am today. I wanted the opportunity to share my passion with other runners who are just starting their own run-journeys. I have had the opportunity to join the Run to the Finish team as one of the coaches and have helped runner's reach their own goals of crossing finish lines both virtually and in-person.

Remember, when running loses it's feeling of fun... it's time to make a change. You got this.