Real David H.

Four years ago today I finished what I’ll now call the worst race I’ve ever had when being fully prepared. 

I’ve had 4 years of hindsight to figure out what went wrong at the Richmond Marathon, and I still don’t know what happened. I wouldn’t have changed a thing about my training or anything else leading up to that day.

Hindsight is 20/20, but I guess I need glasses. 

That day sent me into a downward spiral that finally hit rock bottom a few months ago. I’ve mainly stayed 10-15 pounds off my goal weight (right now it’s closer to 20), I’ve had only a couple of races go better than I expected and I haven’t really had a strong desire to do a marathon until this year. 

Just when I was looking forward to something and pulling myself out of this unbelievable funk, I got injured. It was a blessing in disguise, though, as I’ve taken the past few months to take a real break physically and refresh myself mentally.

I can’t begin to tell you how much I hate being in this spot, but so many little things are so rewarding right now. Having runs of 3-4 miles instead of 1-2 miles for two straight weeks feels amazing.

It’s like I’m learning how to run all over again, and that’s actually a lot more fun and satisfying than anything else I’ve done in the past 4 years. 

And now I can’t wait to see what getting back to an hour of running feels like, and hitting so many other milestones in the next few months. 

I can’t force a running high to return, but I’m starting to figure out the steps to get there …