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My running watch buzzes with each mile completed. For the ninth time that morning, the feeling on my wrist reminded me that I’d come far…not to New York, where I had traveled with my dad for the weekend. And not in my early morning run, because we’d turned around halfway. I was far from another version of myself.
In September, at the beginning of our final year of college, my friend Maria suggested that we run a half marathon in April. This finish line would align with the timing of our college graduation. The two milestones would complement each other. However, in my training, I’ve learned more about appreciating small accomplishments than envisioning–or fearing–big ones.
In the beginning I could think only of the insurmountable distance I would eventually have to run. When taking on between 30 and 45 minutes of running daily, I could not see how my training would prepare me for 13.1 miles. I struggled through my weekly long runs. The Sunday I ran 5 miles for the first time, I remember finishing with a bleeding blister on my left foot and a sharp pain in my back.
But the next week I ran 6 with Maria and felt a little lighter. The Sunday that followed I ran 7 on a treadmill while my boyfriend, Gabriel, lifted weights at the same gym. I ran 8 right before having dinner with my friend Gigi, who runs on Vanderbilt’s Track and Cross Country teams.
After my dad and I ran 9 miles in New York he pointed out something I hadn’t noticed. He noted how comfortable I seemed with the distance. Only then did I realize how the miles had added up. This felt similar to my habit of forgetting to use the produce I buy weekly; how each Sunday I pick up a carrot at the grocery store and suddenly I open my refrigerator to more broccoli, tomatoes, onions, and kale than I know what to do with.
Since then, one of my favorite parts of training has been that each week I impress myself. I am in a stage in life where my goals feel big. I want to find a job. I want to feel a sense of purpose. I want my next step in life to involve a place I love and people who support me.
How do I measure those goals?
My running watch tracks each mile. It begs me to remember the consistency with which I’ve built strength to allow me to run 5, 6, 7, 8…and eventually 13.1 miles. It asks me to retrieve my attention from my April race and May graduation. “You’re here now,” it seems to tell me. Mile 9. Next to my dad, the horse-led carriages we passed an hour and a half ago, in Central Park. It seems to say, “before you know it, you’ll reach the finish line. Celebrate the steps in between.”
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