Thanks for the memories...



This is was hanging on the wall in our downstairs room. It's a playroom, sports room, guest room type of room...a catch-all for things that don't go anywhere else in our house. 

I saw this race-shrine (not sure what else to call it) on an almost daily basis and it made me happy, proud, excited, nostalgic. Not every race gave a medal, but I loved hanging another medal and race bib on it. I know there are some runners who take issue with the "everyone gets a medal" mindset, and they wouldn't think of displaying those medals, but I was the kind of runner that liked my medals. I'll own that.  

Surprisingly, not much has made me "angry" about my former-runner status. My running shoes, my running clothes, my running friends, even running emails...no angry feelings. But my race-shrine has been different. I'm not sure why but it makes me angry to see it. I'm not even sure if angry is the appropriate name for the feeling. Disappointed, sad, distressed, resentful...they don't fit, or maybe they all fit. 

I'll stick with angry.  

So I took it down today.

 I'm coming up on 2 weeks until surgery and my organizing-frantically-getting-things-done mode is in full effect. Boxing things up, putting things away, donating what I can, is what I've been doing in my spare time. So it seemed like a good day to do the same with my medals and bibs and running journals.


 
I'm going to keep them. All of them. Even the dumb running journals and race bibs. The idea of throwing them away is incomprehensible. 

Why can't I just throw them away?  I have no idea.

Maybe my great grandkids will be given these and they will be like me and hate clutter so they will be annoyed to have this box of junk. But they liked me when I was alive, so they will look at them and be impressed that their Great-Bubby Cohen once ran all the miles and had all the fun.

 Then they will throw them away for me. 



I decided these are my 4 favorites. 
My first marathon, my Half-Ironman, the first marathon tethered to Alex, and my first official 50 mile race. 

I have very detailed journals from the beginning of 2015 when I tracked my training for the PittsburghMarathon. I had a journal for 2014, but I threw it out once 2015 started. I started saving the journals once I noticed my running was legitimately improving. I was faster, running more miles, and kept in "race shape" year round. 


 
These are my mileage totals for each year. I was at 780 miles for 2017 when I had my last run...

The biking miles I'll start tracking next year will make these running mile totals look silly. 

I can't wait...

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