My Chalkboard Proclamation

Happy back-to-school week! Personally, I haven’t had a first day of school in over eight years. I also do not have any children, so I cannot contribute to the onslaught of pretty cute “first day of school” pictures on Facebook that show a Pinterest-perfect chalkboard of this year’s favorite colors and future career aspirations.  However, the excitement in the air that the first day of school brings is not lost on me. Summer is over, Fall is here, and with that brings a season of new beginnings, new goals, and new dreams to chase.

I may not be going back to school, but I can still decide what I want to be when I grow up.

Since I tend to focus on big races that typically occur before the end of Summer, this time of year typically involves a Fall half marathon and ample time to enjoy farmer’s markets, cider mills, and even the occasional sleeping in on Saturday mornings in lieu of a long run. Every year, I promise myself that instead of running long, I will focus more on becoming a faster runner. And every single year, Fall passes in a blink of an eye and before I know it, I’m bundling up in six layers of clothing, reindeer antlers, and glitter knee-high socks at the Turkey Trot in November and I’m not the faster runner that I had intended to be just three months prior.

Clearly- I need a plan. This plan needs to be centered around tasks that I have typically avoided in the past and push me out of my comfort zone ie- wearing my Garmin to track pace and mile splits, not stopping to introduce myself to every dog or person that so much looks in my direction, speed work at the track, (note: I’m actually going on week 3 of speed work right now and I surprisingly don’t hate it.) tempo runs, and increasing my weekly mileage.

Insert dramatic “sigh” here. Those things don’t exactly sound like my cup-of-tea, but with no mega races on my race schedule, now is the time to truly find out if the end result is worth the pursuit of training outside of my comfort zone. And while shaving two minutes off my 5k or four minutes off my 10k may not exactly bring the glitz and glam of long distance racing achievements, it’s time to lace up my running shoes, dust off my Garmin, and most importantly- tell my excuses to keep quiet. I've got dreams to chase and goals to conquer.