The theme for this year’s Cellcom Green Bay Marathon & Half-Marathon couldn’t have hit home harder for not only me but my mom.
Everyone runs with a purpose, whether they are self-aware of it or not. And the purpose can change along the life of a runner. A purpose could be to reach a new personal time, part of a healthy lifestyle, to prove to themselves, and the list goes on. I never defined what my purpose really was when I started, I jut ran. But I am glad I did that as it gave me an experience with my father that I would have missed out on. And now I do run with a purpose. I run because he can’t. I run so I can be closer to him. I run because, simply, its a part of me.
Every run I go on is personal. For myself. For my dad. This I repeated throughout the 13.1 trek to Lambeau (with maybe a few curse words). As it was tough to have runners pass me. Especially since it was happening more and more. But I had to remind myself that my goals and training were completely different than theirs. I don’t know how they trained, I only know how I trained and that’s all that mattered. As I knew I had trained more than the previous year but not as much or as often as I should have. I had to keep it personal.
For my mother, this weekend was about not being on the sidelines but completing the 13.1 miles herself. As she had been on the course a million times for my dad and then for me. I know my dad would have been so proud and I couldn’t be prouder.
Remember why you run. Whatever your “Its Personal” mantra is, reminder yourself on good days and more important on days you don’t have the motivation to get out there and run.
Love for Laces 