Thankful for Running: 10 day photo challenge

Last month I participated in the “10 day running challenge” on Facebook where you posted pictures of running that meant a lot to you, but did not post any context. While I had fun with the challenge (and it’s one of the few FB challenges I’ve ever done), I felt like the pictures would mean so much more with explanation. Since I’m struggling with finding both my running mojo and my blogging mojo, I decided to share the 10 photos and what they meant to me here.

Day 1

Eleven years ago I ran my first Marine Corps Marathon. It was the reason I started my blog (my husband got tired of hearing about my training and chose my blog name for me) and a huge turning point in my life as a runner. That first race is still my MCM PR.

Day 2

One year I had the awesome opportunity to be a blogger for the Runners World Festival. The whole weekend was amazing. I got to meet some cool RW people including Bart Yasso, the founders of Altra Running, and a bunch of other bloggers. This picture was taken at the end of the half marathon and is one of my favorite running pictures of all time.

Day 3

Weeks later, I am still recovering from this race. While I was a lot slower than I had hoped, I gave it everything I had. Given the crazy weather, I was happy to finish upright and smiling.

Day 4

This race was my first race ever! A friend convinced me to run it and I went out the night before to buy running tights because I’d never run outside in the cold! They were men’s tights and while I never wear them anymore, I just can’t get rid of them LOL. It was an 8K, which I thought was 4 miles. Turns out it’s closer to 5. Oops. I’m pretty sure my friend had no idea she was creating a monster when she convinced me to do this race.

Day 5

I could have selected any number of Ragnar pictures to represent this major part of my running life. This was the first team I ran with but at our second Ragnar – Ragnar Cape Cod. I’ve been so lucky to always have amazing teams and very few weather issues other than heat. I still have many future Ragnars to do – still need to figure out my 2020 plans.

Day 6

Marathon #2 is still my marathon PR: 4:36ish. There were many things I didn’t love about it, but it was amazing to finish on the track with my boys running me in. Just like after my first MCM, I swore I’d never run another marathon again. I lied.

Day 7

ZOOMA Annapolis 2008 was my first half marathon. I was dehydrated (thanks to a day at the beach and a brewery the day before), it was hot, and I hated the course. But I was so mad about it that I decided to run it again for redemption. Then I became an ambassador. Now it’s my job. Funny how the dots all connect when you look back on things.

Day 8

I’m not generally one to run a race with a group. I’ll hang with you at the start and meet you for a beer at the finish, but I like to do my own thing during the race. I made an exception for this race because I was hanging with an awesome group of ladies. I don’t regret it and would happily join them for a fun time again. It was a beautiful reminder that racing is as much about the people as it is about the running.

Day 9

Sometimes running isn’t just about you. Running MCM 2018 to honor a fallen soldier brought a new depth to a race that already gave me all the feels. My only regret is that I missed his mom at the flags.

Day 10

I could have chosen any number of pictures for this final picture. Running races with my dad was one of the best parts of racing. He always pushed me outside of my comfort zone and I credit him for teaching me so much about life and running. While his hip has retired him from running, I’m thankful that he’s still my go to handyman and advice giver.

Did you do the 10 day challenge? Did you wish you could put into words why the pictures meant so much to you? I’ve only been racing for about 12 years, but it’s become a huge part of who I am and I’m thankful every day that I get to run (even on days when I hate running.)