Missing the Yamanakako Half Marathon (and Being Fine with It)

I was supposed to be running the Yamanakako Half Marathon today. But, the past couple of months, life (plus chronic hip tightness) got in the way so I decided to turn the booked Tokyo trip from a racecation into pure vacation with my son. Three days into the trip and I have no regrets.

Years ago, I would’ve been devastated by this. I always needed a goal race to feel like I was a serious competitive runner.  Having a race provided a target to aim for and gave order to my days with a training program to adhere to.  Without a race, I felt lost. But, I realize now (after over a decade of this lol) that this was so wrong.

Now that I see myself as a lifelong runner, I know that all runners go through the ebbs and flows of running. Sometimes, we focus on a PR race.  Other times, we bump up our running by adding swimming and biking into the mix for a triathlon.  And, other times, we’re just happy to be running 3 to 4 10ks a week along with complementing cross training workouts like weights and yoga (which I where I am right now.) 

Running, and not racing, doesn’t diminish our love for running. This doesn’t make us less competitive. This only proves that we are not defined by running or racing or our PRs.

Be the runner who is passionate about running, but has other interests outside of running.  Be the runner who can talk about running, but can also discuss family, current events, work, and pop culture.  Be the runner who isn’t known as just the runner, but the person (insert name here) who happens to be a runner.

Sometime soon, I shall start training again.  But, for now, I’ll enjoy my short runs while balancing everything else in life.  And, life now is about exploring more of Tokyo and eating more sushi! Life is good!