Be Happy!

You need to embrace the times you run fast, and certain distance. Plus be happy for runner’s achieving success. For me, there is marathon runner me at 17 and marathon runner me at 25. I would not be mad if a teenager placed higher than me in a race, because I feel like it was more normal for me to be a marathon runner in my teens than now. The reason I retroactively feel that it was appropriate for me to start racing the marathon distance as a teenage girl, is because it came from running cross-country since I was twelve. I always was a runner, and it was appropriate for me to enter marathon running at a young age.

My coach, was in her late thirties when I met her after my first marathon, and we talked about age in the beginning. The difference between me being teenaged and her having already been married with children and a career. Sometimes, in races I would place high and my coach would need to say that I was old enough to fit in the winning shoe. My coach after running all the world majors and being a top ten performer, also told me to run races like MDI, because they are pretty and enjoyable. It is very cool how fast I have been in peak. Now, at the age of twenty-five, I feel like I have been there and done that already, while a lot of female marathon runners do not start until they are closer to thirty. However, I feel that thirty for me will not have much running, and more sitting in a chair teaching mathematics to college students and highschool students who should start college early; perhaps still dabbling in software or research things. Running is a cool career, but it can also be the career before the other career. My coach is a wonderful woman to look up to, especially for me, because we both have fast times and careers that are way separate from running, like not even on the business end of running; two professions each, at least. A dear friend of mine has a cool career before the other career too, but in a different industry, two different industries actually where we do not really overlap in career paths ever; the reason we are so happy together. Having multiple vocational careers is very relatable indeed, more relatable than unrelatable in reality.

Dragging out competitive running to a twenty year thing, seems unfathomable to me. Shadow boxes exist for a reason. My office has all my degrees and medals, I love it very much. Being as intelligent and fast as possible is my main priority in life which some may find controversial, but whatever. Never let the negative people in, or settle on stereotypical norms, push the limit of being fast and intelligent; women can do anything and should have a supportive male counterpart if that is what they would like. I realize there are people who do not feel it’s correct to run marathons like I do or pursue graduate school in mathematics with the hope to teach mathematics at a high level to other women in the future, but that is who I am, and there are women out there who are even better at math and running; keep pushing forward. My brain needs to be stimulated and challenged, and so do my legs and heart in a marathon. There is more to life, if you know what I mean, the reality may be breaking away at times to be smart and fast. Honestly, I feel like I am on track to reach my personal goals, if not the place in a race, I bet I can be pleased with the time. Everyone can run the time, but finishing in a high place of a race is just a bonus. A lot of my old teammates ran sub-four minute miles, and so did all eight of the men in the race, so I feel lucky to have those buddies to learn from; we all learn from each other. I always place higher in longer races, but some track star ex-teammates do not want to run the marathon, at least not yet. There are races where top twenty is only about three seconds apart from each other, with times that are profoundly fast. The other things my coach told me is “You never know!” and “You know the time you will finish a marathon before your foot leaves the starting line.” When you stride towards perfection, you come pretty close.

I really like to emphasize be happy for everyone, especially your closest competition and think very highly of your personal goals.

Love is not in the legs, it’s all in the kiss!

I was happy post running in this pic….

When you kiss the love of your life, you instantly know that you were born to find each other!

Especially after running twenty miles and off camera… over and over and over again, plus once more. Those electromagnetic things, I almost feel in a meditative state when I run a marathon. Nothing makes me happier than being close to marathon running or kissing. Both make me instantly happy. Inexplicable happiness. The grey sweatpants make my happiness even higher too, even with the right leg rolled all the way up whilst throwing off the sneakers; being completely barefoot in grey sweats. It is so funny, because in the beginning I thought they would only wear the running kind for a track all the time, but they have lots of variety even though I love the running kind; do not even need to wear them, it’s fine, that’s a beautiful thing. I have broadened my horizons so much.