I recently got one of those memory notifications on social and was reminded of my final easy run before the Chicago Marathon in 2017. It was a 6 miles run at 11:07 pace.
When I saw that, I had to smile to myself. I remember being SO proud of myself for running a marathon again (third time!) let alone at 8 months postpartum. I found the joy in each mile, because if I was going to be away from my baby after teaching full-time, I better love the reason pulling me away.
And then I realized that I can’t remember the last time I ran an 11 minute mile. My easy runs sit much faster these days. I remember considering myself an “almost” back of the packer. And somewhere along the way, I stopped telling myself I was a slow runner and just ran the workouts.
I have run hundreds of miles between then and now, countless speed workouts, long easy runs, runs with friends, runs on the trails, runs to clear my mind, runs to celebrate, and runs to cry it out.
This is all a very long winded way of saying, just keep going. Don’t worry so much about the watch, the pace, and what someone else in a different square is doing.
Just...Love the Run.