Some real talk …
About Mental Health
There are lots of new-found mental health experts out there this week. It’s quite remarkable that so many people think they have their shit together so well that they can talk on this topic.
From my own experience as an “athlete” – certainly a term I use very loosely about myself – I have learned that when you’re not in the right headspace, you’re only going to hurt yourself physically. And when you force it, you may send yourself into a deeper spiral both physically and mentally.
The pandemic has only compounded mental health issues for so many. As a parent, the list is endless on how it’s impacted us. As a runner since March 2020, I’ve uttered the words “I can’t” many, many times for many different reasons, something I never did before.
Some may call these excuses, but if I can’t get my mind into it, the physical side suffers tremendously. And there have been times – like this summer – where I have my mind in a good place to do something, only to not be able to get my body physically where it needs to be. Your mind and body working together is quite a beautiful thing when it works; it’s a mess when the mental and physical side are completely out of sync. For me, these things have varied wildly for months now.
These past two years, I’ve learned much more to respect where people are in their lives right now. What might seem fine one day, isn’t the next. If someone changes their mind about something important seemingly overnight, let it be. It doesn’t matter what the subject matter is.
About the Richmond Marathon
So here’s a strange thing about this post … I started this (several days before actually hitting publish) as a way to say I was dropping out of the Richmond Marathon and switching to the 8k, but these thoughts just starting flowing as the news of mental health and athletes was everywhere this week, along with immediate bad takes from new mental health experts. I laid out some more thoughts in a Twitter thread after I made the change.
My mind was so ready for marathon training, but my body hasn't been. Then that just impacts my thoughts about running in a negative way, so the mental struggles just starting dominating and impacting other aspects of my life. (1/3)
— David H. (@realDavidHylton) July 27, 2021
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My switch isn’t purely from a mental standpoint, but I’m stuck in a loop that I can’t run my way out of right now, and I have to do what’s best for myself to reset several things right now. This summer weather has also demoralized me this year.
I also want to put my focus on races next year – the Shamrock Half (that 2020 race will eventually happen) and the Blue Ridge Marathon. Those events just mean more to me personally than the Richmond Marathon.
About My Blogging Future
There’s no doubt that I’ve been a pretty terrible blogger in recent years. While I don’t want to call it quits officially, crafting this post over the course of several days has helped me realize that I just don’t want to put any effort into writing about running any more.
I THINK about writing about running so much – especially while I’m running – but the words never make to the publishing standpoint. I’ve kind of talked about that several times in the past few years, but I’m at the point where I have to say I’m actually stopping it. I’ll certainly still talk about running on Instagram and Twitter, and probably still put together various threads with my thoughts, but having this blog is just so much of an extra thing right now.
I do want to make sure, though, that I don’t use the word “QUIT” when it comes to my blog. There’s other stuff I might write about. I may revamp my “nonphotographer” blog. I may run a race and want to talk about it. I just don’t want to THINK about it and have it occupying space in my mind anymore.
I could end up changing my mind on that, and that’s certainly OK. Things change. People change. I just know that right now it’s time to bid farewell to this blog.
Real David H. 
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