Running solo...

Now that I have worked my way back up to be able to run 5Ks (though not at a desired speed), I think I can talk about my last year's race. It was a 5K for CRY (Child's Rights and You), an India based NGO. It was a horrible race on a very personal level, my iPod had a hitch and I lost my music for some reason, it was a very hot mid-morning, I was running solo... I can keep writing excuses about my performance that didn't match up against my expectations but the fact remains that after that race, I gave up. I tried to register for races but it was for the sake of fitness, not because I wanted to run. I had placed myself into the categories of 'Runners' and my performance was not worthy of 'Runners' World'. 

And then by late fall I realized that I had lost all the stamina and I couldn't run my usual 3-4 miles anymore. It was again one of those 'eureka' moment, I was missing it because I had lost it. Why do we have to loose something before we know its importance? 

I came across a few quotes in Runner's World magazine that I noted in my quotes book and referred to at times, these became my motivation:

1)  Running is a free-form activity; we alone determine how fast, how far, and how long we run. The empowerment of running is open to anyone, at any speed. Your definition of "slow" may change as your grow more fit, and will change again as you grow older.

2)  At some point, all new runners realize that they are capable of tackling just about anything - whether its hills, speedwork, long runs, or even races. The fact that you are attempting such a range of runs marks a major accomplishment. 

As, I am trying to work on my speed for the mothers' Day 5K, I look at these pictures and say to myself, 'you have done it before and you'll do it again'... They were taken at the CRY 5K 2010.