I’ve been running and racing for as long as I can remember. What started as family fun runs in grade school and track meets in middle and high school eventually led to running my first half marathon in 2009. After that, there was no looking back. Saturday mornings became reserved for sunrise runs. The number of special friends in my life grew from miles on the roads. I learned I could do things that seemed impossible, believed in myself more and found a strength I never knew I had. All of that came from training and racing.

In 2016, there was no training and racing. No race schedule. No goal times. No 60-mile weeks … all things I have come to love and crave. Instead, there was easy running, lots of strength training/cross training and many slow miles. It has all been worth it as my body has prepared to bring my new daughter into the world (due January 8, 2017), but I’ve also really missed it. I’ve learned some important lessons from temporarily stepping away from one of my greatest passions.

Lessons I’ve Learned from My Year of Not Racing

• Trying new and different workouts can bring a great deal of enjoyment. I’ve tried so many workouts I may never have discovered or had the time to consistently do while intensely training for a marathon.
• Running isn’t the only thing that makes me feel strong.
• We need the mental and physical break from constant training and racing. Racing year-in and year-out, season after season leads to burn-out we sometimes don’t realize we had until we take an extended break.
• I miss my running friends. My running tribe doesn’t do enough outside of running and workouts together. Stepping away from training made me realize how much we do exclusively around fitness.
• I don’t miss eating GUs and drinking sports drink … but I still want to carb load for no reason.
• I can still accomplish major running goals through coaching. Some of my greatest running joys recently have come from helping others succeed.
• There are other ways to stay involved in the running community, such as speaking at group runs, volunteering, coaching and being part of running events/retreats.
• It’s fun to walk and exercise with others who I didn’t typically work out with because they are at different points in their fitness journey. Being pregnant has prompted me to walk with friends who are on a weight loss journey and/or attend other fitness classes with friends who may need added motivation.
• Life goes on, and running will be there when I’m ready to run/race again.
• I really freaking miss it. I don’t think there is a better way to light a fire and dream in my belly than to be away from running/racing for so long.

There’s so much I’m looking forward to in 2017. One of those is dreaming big with running again and setting some exciting goals to build back. Thanks for sticking with me this year friends. xo

If you’ve ever taken time off from running due to pregnancy, injury or simply because you needed a break, what did your time away teach you? Did you learn any valuable lessons that helped you become a better runner?