“I just don’t want to put any effort into writing about running any more,” was one of the last things I said here earlier this summer.
A couple of paragraphs later, I wrote “I could end up changing my mind … Things change. People change.”
That blog post and the month that followed were easily the lowest points I’ve ever had with running while not injured. No motivation … weight gain … a terrible attitude about the sport.
In July, I dropped from the Richmond Marathon to the 8K. I could certainly get into good enough shape to run the 8K, right?
Well, no. In late October, I decided I wouldn’t even do that, even though things were getting better. I didn’t want to force myself to do a race when I wasn’t in racing shape and would have a terrible time and probably a terrible experience.
But what does that even mean? I know I can’t get back to the shape I was a decade ago in a matter of a month or two. I don’t even think I could get anywhere really close to that with a year of hard work. That doesn’t mean, though, that I shouldn’t focus on getting better.
As the season has changed from a miserable summer to a decent fall, I declared wanting to have a “running revival” in an Instagram post. I was nowhere ready to run an 8K, but a few things changed at home that opened up Saturday morning. Since I didn’t want to completely waste my entry (which was originally a 2020 Richmond Marathon entry), I decided to do it and see what happens.
Every Run Tells A Story
In September, I ventured off to a trail to seemingly nowhere while my son was at soccer practice. It ended up not really amounting to much of an adventure, but during that time I realized how much I missed the randomness that occasionally comes with running.
“I miss the days of nearly every run having a story,” is what I wrote on my Instagram post. “Maybe that’s part of my ongoing problem with running and fitness … I’m struggling to tell a story.”
Story-telling is part of who I am as I am mid-way through my career that has been all about communicating through a variety of media. Over the years, running became part of my personal story and I loved to talk about it whether anyone reads about it or not.
When I opted to pause my blog this summer (or, rather, not worry about actually writing here), I started telling more of this running story through my other social media posts. The behind-the-scenes details aren’t that important, but it’s been a wild few months with the adjustments back to in-person school, kids getting sick, a family member getting COVID, moving offices at work, soccer practices and games, selling a vehicle … I can’t run away from those things, but I can run to process those things.
That leads to great things like the rare “lunch run.”
Wanting to Race Again
In March 2020, things were really going along nicely as I was preparing for the Shamrock Half Marathon and then the Blue Ridge Marathon. Then, well, COVID happened and canceled all the things.
Returning to a start line became less and less a reality for me as I was injured last summer. Last fall, some things started to turn around for me, but the uncertainty about races happening really wore me down. I was very anxious about being around large groups of people. All that led to a mostly horrible year of running and also me not taking care of myself as I gained some weight.
This summer, though, I went to a concert that really helped get rid of so many of these feelings that I was having about group activities. I knew then that getting back to racing wouldn’t cause any major issues with me.
When I was getting to rock bottom with running in August, I still knew I wanted to get back to racing again. I’ve got big things on my calendar for 2022 — I have time to turn things around and put this time period behind me … that’s at least what I kept telling myself. This fall though, a lot of self-doubt started to creep back in even if I was putting forth a strong face in some of my posts.
I texted my sister (who did awesome in the Richmond Marathon by the way) on Nov. 4 that I wasn’t going to do the 8K. I wasn’t ready, I thought. Surf-n-Santa in December would be the first race back, I thought.
While my schedule opened up, so did my mind. A week later, I was secretly at the expo getting my race bib.
The Return to Racing
The routine of getting everything ready the night before a race felt so normal. Getting up too early to scramble for parking was frustrating, but normal. Venturing to the start area with runners awkwardly stretching was normal. The start line and getting to the opening mile was … SLOW. But even with that, it all felt so right. And normal.
I didn’t push myself to a 100% effort at any point. I ended up treating this as a progressive run to see what I left for the final mile. That worked out perfectly as I started with a mile around 10 minutes and then knocked off about 20 seconds each mile after that.
It made me wonder what I could do with more training and more effort to get back to better health. Could I do this race at a consistent pace and break 40 minutes again? What can I do with some focus on Shamrock? Can I knock an hour off my Blue Ridge Marathon time?
Beyond my personal experience, getting back to this event and experiencing the Richmond crowds all felt so surreal. So many awesome volunteers … so many nice and respectful runners on the course … so much smiling and happiness the entire time.
These are things that I will never take for granted again.
Being a Spectator, Again
While my personal experiences have limited me to the 8K, I’ve been able to get the perspective of being a spectator for two out of the last three years with my sister running the full marathon.
I didn’t get to go to all the party zones this year, but I still was able to get to mile 7 to see her and then get to the finish line with my kids.
If you want to have an experience to remember with your family, Richmond is certainly THE race to make it happen.
What’s Next?
This is the part of telling a story that I believe led me to not wanting to blog as much over the years. “What’s next” terrified me as I dealt with so many injuries. But it’s time to not think about that anymore.
I’ve already mentioned a couple of other races in this blog, but there’s so much more that has to happen to get to those start lines.
I’ve got to really focus on intentionally making changes with my overall health. I’ve been passive about it for way too long.
Eating better. Going to bed early. Getting up at a consistent time. Putting my phone down. Not focusing on what others are doing with their running. There are so many things that I need to work on physically and mentally.
This now unbelievably long post doesn’t mean “I’m back” with running or blogging. This post and everything that’s happened in the past few weeks are small pieces in a running revival. Now it’s time to keep pushing forward.
Real David H. 
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