Chapter 36
36. When did that happen? I know I know, right after 35 …..
It’s crazy to think that I ran my first marathon at age 24. Twelve years of marathoning and triathlons! I still can remember my first real 5K - I was 23. I had just started running and it was going to be one of my first races on my quest for 26.2. Finishing that race in 36? 34? minutes - I honestly don’t remember and I don’t have the watch I used back then (shout out Nike+ running watch). But I do remember finishing with my lungs burning and heading straight to Dunkin Donuts after, telling my friends “I’m sorry I can’t meet up today, I just ran a 5K. I need to recover.”
36 year old me LOL’s at this but I love this memory. It reminds me that we all start somewhere. Whether it’s your first 5K at age 40 or your lining up for your first track meet in high school. That nervous feeling never goes away and honestly I don’t think would ever want it to. Being nervous reminds me to respect the distance - any distance from the mile to a marathon. Every time we start a race we have an opportunity to explore something new within ourselves, even if the race doesn’t go as planned.
Today I ran my last race as a 35 year old. A 10K. And guess what - I PR’d. And not on purpose. In fact I was sick the night before. I won’t go into detail on that, but let’s just say I didn’t know how I was going to run a race that didn’t have porto potties on the course. None the less, the alarm went off oat 5:30AM. Cody brought me coffee like he does every morning and we headed off to the race at 6:15AM. This was his weekend to sherpa. He’s been on the triathlon circuit recently and now was his turn to return the favor (and he did an awesome job with the content, be sure to check IG and Tiktok for the reels!). This race was supposed to be tune up for Monumental Marathon this fall, at 6:30AM I just wanted it to be over.
One thing I’ve learned over 12 years of racing, never trust the first mile. Even after I had warmed up I still need that first mile or two to get into the race (hence why I struggle with 5Ks, but I’m getting better!). Most would think that as we get old we should start to slow down - I’m finding the opposite. Each year my easy runs getting a little slower but my racing gets stronger. I’ve learned to be specific with my training and stop trying to “do it for Strava”. I trust myself more on race day, relying more on my experience and how I feel vs what pace my watch says to feel. Leading up to this race I’ve only been doing speedwork 1x per week but managing the most consistent (and highest) mileage I’ve done this early in a training cycle. Oh and it doesn’t hurt that I’m not training for a half ironman at the same time I’m training for a marathon :-P
As I’ve crested the top of the hill in my thirties and am closer to 40 than I am 30, I’m not afraid of what I’ve left behind but instead I’m excited about what is to come. It is true what they say, your thirties are the start of the best decades of your life. As a business owner, a runner, a triathlete , and a human - I feel the most “me” that I have ever felt.
Oh and that 10K I ran in the final days of being 35? I PR’s that shit. By over three minutes. Getting older is not the “end of your running”. It can be if you sink into that mindset of course. But I prefer to think of this a leaping off into my next season of life!
——- Disclaimer: While running faster is possible, it does require so much more sleep and recovery! This year of life has required 9:30PM bedtimes and nixing that night cap of Pinot Noir on most nights. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make to continue to feel this good.
