And just like that, it's been 7 years.
Like last year, I don't really have a lot of sentimental ruminations about the anniversary of my first real post about my first Long Beach Half-Marathon.
However, I have been thinking about the blog and its future lately, more than usual. When I started, I basically lived and breathed running. Of course, I was also a (college!) student, newly into the workforce, and all that good stuff, but I used to take the little vacation time I had just to run... just to train, even. Nowadays, perhaps because working the "9 to 5" for years kills your soul (so to speak), running occupies such a smaller space in my life, both time-wise and mentally.
This past weekend, after 4 months of running no more than 5 miles (most days under 4), I ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 2 minutes -- in a training session, faster than a good percentage of my actual half-marathons, not even at 100% effort. I truly believe that this came from my "mental space" becoming clearer from not "running myself into the ground" moreso than my actual physical fitness (which isn't much, based on total training time and lack of weight-/cross-training). Overall, it felt good in the Fall air, and that run kind of helped me affirm that running is always going to be a part of my life, even if I am slowly decreasing my race registrations this year. I had to adjust to a lot of new things since last year, and I'm sure there will be a lot of other new things in the future. People go through many phases in life, and there will always be a need to be active and clear the mind.
So the blog will stay, even though it sometimes feels like the blog world is spread too thin, and nobody wants to really blog anymore in favor of Instagram and such. The blog will stay, through running and not running, because I have a feeling and hope that the best is yet to come.
Like last year, I don't really have a lot of sentimental ruminations about the anniversary of my first real post about my first Long Beach Half-Marathon.
However, I have been thinking about the blog and its future lately, more than usual. When I started, I basically lived and breathed running. Of course, I was also a (college!) student, newly into the workforce, and all that good stuff, but I used to take the little vacation time I had just to run... just to train, even. Nowadays, perhaps because working the "9 to 5" for years kills your soul (so to speak), running occupies such a smaller space in my life, both time-wise and mentally.
This past weekend, after 4 months of running no more than 5 miles (most days under 4), I ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 2 minutes -- in a training session, faster than a good percentage of my actual half-marathons, not even at 100% effort. I truly believe that this came from my "mental space" becoming clearer from not "running myself into the ground" moreso than my actual physical fitness (which isn't much, based on total training time and lack of weight-/cross-training). Overall, it felt good in the Fall air, and that run kind of helped me affirm that running is always going to be a part of my life, even if I am slowly decreasing my race registrations this year. I had to adjust to a lot of new things since last year, and I'm sure there will be a lot of other new things in the future. People go through many phases in life, and there will always be a need to be active and clear the mind.
So the blog will stay, even though it sometimes feels like the blog world is spread too thin, and nobody wants to really blog anymore in favor of Instagram and such. The blog will stay, through running and not running, because I have a feeling and hope that the best is yet to come.
Happy blogaversary!
ReplyDeleteHappy Blogiversary and yes, I think it's good to take breaks from pretty much everything to reset your mind and body. Congrats on the great run and I look forward to your posts no matter what the topic is. Cheers to the upcoming year of posts.
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