Thought for today

"Your greatest runs are rarely measured by racing success. They are moments in time when running allows you to see how wonderful your life is." - Kara Goucher

Kara Goucher is one of my favorite Olympic athletes. Not only is she a fantastic runner, but she’s also a mom. I follow her on Facebook and it’s so cool to see a professional runner balance her life with motherhood.

What seems like forever ago, I used to run for pleasure. I had moments like the one described above – where I would be overwhelmed with emotion during a particularly good run about how great my life was. I would actually get choked up while running and have to compose myself so no one would think I was a weird crying girl out on the trail. It was like a wall of emotion would hit me mid-run. It was wonderful and delightful and overwhelming.

I haven’t run for pleasure in a long time.

2012 has been marked by successes and (mostly) “failures” when it comes to running. Taking a month off of running after having a baby made it difficult to get back into it. I haven’t felt as nearly as in shape as I was while I was pregnant. Most races don’t result in a PR (except for that odd Half Marathon). Most runs, I struggle to finish. Many runs I don’t even enjoy because I am measuring myself against past (and better) performance.

Perhaps it’s time to stop measuring, and start relishing.

Just a thought for today.