Hello Runners,
Welcome back! I last wrote before the start of the 2023 indoor track season. I have started this post a million times, then would wait to see how things developed more in my running to write, or would worry that my writing and updates would come off as whiny. Running has just not gone the way I expected this year.
Sheeeeeesh it has been a long time since I’ve written. I had a super tricky indoor season due to a pesky achilles injury. My achilles tendon has basically been one balled up lump of spaghetti noodles, and the best I can hope for on any given day is pain that is manageable enough to run through without compensating. My mileage was split in half- it went from 75 to 35ish- supplemented with lots of hours cycling and swimming instead. When I last wrote I hardly felt any pain, then a couple weeks later I spiked up for a workout (which I never do… *palm to forehead moment*) and I’ve been paying for it ever since. I’ve had a really great team of athletic staff and coaches to help me physically and psychologically through a lackluster indoor season and what has been a rushed outdoor season thus far. And I can say that things are looking far from glamorous, but they might actually be coming together.
I didn’t hit the times that I wanted to this indoor season in the mile (or any events, for that matter), but the worst part was probably when I missed making the final
at our conference championships. If I write more about it then it will just be really dramatic, because it was a huge disappointment after coming in third in last year’s indoor conference meet. Thus far in outdoor I have run the 1500m four times, and will run another two this weekend at outdoor conference championships!
I struggle to feel proud and happy with myself when I compare what my race results are this year compared to what they were last year and what I wanted them to be this year. Being injured and forced to do things differently than I want has been an isolating and frustrating experience. I could count the practices with my team I have been able to make it to on one hand in the past few weeks. Between school, physical therapy, cross training, and modifying workouts, it seems like I am almost doing an entirely different sport. I know that this is only temporary, and I am trying to make the best of it, but I get major FOMO and the occasional identity crisis when it feels like I’m missing out on so much.
Stupid achilles.
Now that I’ve shared all the frustrating parts of being slightly banged-up, which most athletes can probably relate to at some point, I want to share a lot of things that I’ve learned over the past couple months! In addition to bringing out the
goggles again for swimming, I got to start cycling again! I honestly think that riding might rival running in the fun competition. I still love running much more, but going out to ride in the mountains helped me stay sane and enjoy training when I had to run less. I highly recommend trying to find a cheap road bike on Facebook Marketplace to anyone who is working through an injury and hates being stationary and indoors as much as I do. I feel like I’m living half as a runner and the other half as a triathlete.
I have always been a high mileage runner and since that has not been a realistic way to train for me, it’s been nice to embrace cross training. I switched my mindset from “just getting through it” in the pool and on a stationary bike to making a schedule of when I get to run, when I have to swim (not my fav), or when I ride. I feel like it’s a lot easier to cross train effectively when I make goals and keep track of my progress in each part of training, especially when I don’t see the same traditional “progress” that I want to in running. This could be as simple as improving in a swim workout every week or being able to go 1mph faster on a loop I ride frequently.
All that being said, I have gotten to race four times so far this season! I opened up
at the Bryan Clay invite (oof, rough place to run your rust-buster), ran a small meet at Colorado School of Mines, ran at our home meet at CSU, and then raced in a heat of all men at the Boulder Track series! I got to race four 1500s in four weeks, and am basically racing myself into shape. It has honestly been really helpful because I have gotten over the feeling that racing is some scary and mysterious thing. Bryan Clay was a tough place to have your first race back, besides running pretty slowly, I was just so nervous about ripping that bandaid off after having the normal lead up to a season look so different. I had one workout where I was able to actually hit the prescribed times before that race… So confidence was not at an all time high.
Getting that first race done was definitely one of the hardest parts of my season.
The next meet at Mines Coach Hart said I should do whatever it takes to win, but I was only allowed to take the lead in the last lap. First collegiate win! It was a fun race and helped me feel like myself again. Starting out conservatively has allowed me to feel stronger and more confident in the second half of the race.
It has been hard knowing that I ran so much faster last year and feeling like I have not accomplished much since then. It feels hard to let my coaches and my team down. While I know that’s not how they feel, I just want more from myself and results are an easy way to track “progress.”
Progress has had an entirely different meaning for me in the past few weeks. If I look at this season from the perspective that race results= progress, I have gone in the opposite direction of “progress.”
But I am progressing. Not in the way I thought I would, but I am becoming a
tougher and more mature athlete. My return to running has not been pretty, it’s been 13 mile long runs on the Boost treadmill and workouts early on getting dropped by my teammates. While I feel fortunate to have a Boost to run on, teammates to push me, and a coaching staff to support me, the process of getting back in shape really toughened me up as an athlete. I have learned to be happy with taking steps in the right direction instead of being disappointed that I’m not running as fast as I did a year ago.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not jumping for joy that the fastest 1500m I’ve run this year is 4:31, I’m hungry for more. But when I execute a race plan and focus on competing there are still things to be proud of.
In other life goings-on, I adopted a new pup- Grizz! He is a sweet year-old ozzy mix who is full of energy and I-love-everyone personality. He quickly became one of
the best parts of every day, life is just better with a dog. I also completed my third year of undergrad at CSU and made a really cool project highlighting Adrian Macdonald, who is a local pro trail runner. Adrian and my former Coach Andrew Epperson (Adrian’s coach) were helpful when I was getting interviews for an article, recording a podcast, and when I followed Adrian around the trails with a GoPro on for my video! You can check out the website I created for this media project here, or check out some of my recent projects here!
“Lily is my best friend ever and I owe her all the credit.” This was written on my
computer during a travel trip… and I’ll just leave it here as an ode to one of my favorite and most admired teammates and friends, who has now graduated!
Really though, I do want to thank my team, family, boyfriend, and especially new Head Coach Kelly Hart for just being the best crew of support I could ever hope for! From my teammates and family sending me encouraging messages, Ben teaching me to “triathlete” to supplement my training, and Coach Hart going above and beyond to be there for me and tailor training to fit my needs. With five weeks of racing in a row, I also appreciate the love and patience from my Runners Roost family as they are
flexible and supportive as ever!
Next up is the Mountain West Championships where I will race tomorrow and Friday in the 1500m! I am extremely grateful and excited at the chance to compete this weekend! If you want to watch, there is a link to the live stream here! I race the 1500m prelim at 6:10pm PT tomorrow and the final on Saturday at 5:55pm PT (and possibly the 5k Saturday at 8:15pm).
I will be back sooner than I was last time with more tips, a fun recipe, and more!
Happy running,
Anna
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