The other day I was emailing back and forth with my friend Miranda, as we tend to do on a regular basis, and I was surprised to learn that after one of my previous blog posts, she was a bit concerned about me when it comes to this Ragnar….well, to my running in general.

Let’s be real here. Sometimes I’m a little concerned about me and my running. Obviously, or I wouldn’t write about it so much.

Here’s the deal. Every once in a while I get tired. Really tired. Mentally and physically. I put my body through a hell of a lot on a weekly basis, and sometimes that shuts me down. Add that to the recent complete overhaul of my day-to-day routine, and you end up with one exhausted, sometimes bitchy, every once in a while forlorn, yet always (at least somewhere in my mind) determined Ann.

Like I said to Miranda, there is nothing to be worried about. I’ll get through Ragnar, and I’ll get through it well. It’s not an option to NOT push myself to my absolute limits and beyond. You know why?

Because I am a runner.

That’s all there is to it.

I. Am. A. Runner.

That’s how I know that even when I struggle, I’ll be just fine. I’ll get through my races, I’ll bounce back from slumps or rough days or days where Thin Mints and a nap sound INFINITELY better than 15x80m hill sprints (like today). Even on those days where I forget all of this, somewhere in my brain, in my very core, I know I will be fine.

Because this is who I am. This running thing isn’t just a passing hobby or phase. It’s an ingrained aspect of ME and has been for years upon years, even if sometimes there have been significant periods of time where I’ve neglected it. It’s something I will do until I physically can’t anymore, and then I will mourn the loss of one of my longest-standing and closest allies.

This is my stress-relief, my freedom, my passion.

This is how I know I will be ok.