Post Run Reflections
When I was sitting in the Phoenix airport drinking a beer and eating whatever I wanted, I felt more accomplished than I had in a very long time. Most people don't run at all, let alone 50 miles in a day. An experience like this imbues a confidence in you that’s electric. You feel as though you can tackle anything and the effort you put in week after week is in pursuit of something largely unfathomable by most others. This was my realization as I passed through the airport.
On the flight home I started wondering what was next. And the next day that really started creeping in. While it was fun to tell my coworkers and friends what I had just done, I felt a little empty like I wasn’t putting my time to good use. At this point I was still in recovery mode and needed some rest for my body. I did a couple 4 mile runs during the week to stay loose, but it felt extra challenging and even a few miles seemed to drag on. There seemed a lack of purpose behind it.
We spent six months legitimately training, and a couple months prior to that starting to get prepared for training, so now that it was over abruptly and I just felt a bit aimless. As I mentioned before, progress is addicting and now that the big push was over, I realized I was going to regress and that felt bad.
So what to do next?
Well, I spent 6 months of intense training, which takes a lot of time. I was lucky enough to have a spouse who supported me through this time and now it’s her turn. So my first objective is to support her next big goal. On the side of that, I think I’ve decided that I’ll shift the exercise mix back to more of a 60/40 split between running and weight lifting and try to keep a ~30 mile weekly distance so that I feel I could reasonably go out on any given day and run a marathon (not fast mind you). This way, when we figure out the next group goal, I’ll be in good shape to get moving on training.
In addition, I’m going to spend some time defining other goals for my life with more focus on family, friends, career and of course, fitness. I will seek to strike a more even balance until the next worthy challenge is identified.
The most important thing I take away on reflection from this post-run period is always strive for something great. It’s important to have a meaningful goal that you’re working toward. It guides your energy, gives you focus and drives meaning into everything you do. Don’t let your energy be spent without purpose.
Hope you enjoyed reading the series of posts on our experience doing Rim2Rim2Rim. It was quite an adventure and one I hope to return to again in the next few years.