~By, Katie Steinberg~
I had given up hope of running. After a bad ankle injury eight years ago, two years of physical therapy, and several doctors’ professional opinions, I was told to stop running. And I did, until now!
Last spring I ran my first marathon. When I hit that 26.2 mile mark, there was no one cheering, no congratulations, no medals. There was nothing but the serene rustle of the wind against the trees and miles of empty winding trail ahead of me. My body was tired but I felt lighter, faster, and stronger than ever. I didn’t need a witness to my accomplishment- I was damned proud! I was training for the Tahoe 50K. There were several more runs like this. Some definitely felt better than others. A month later I ran my first 50K, and I won.
This experience made me believe that you can train your body to do anything. You have to train smart and are determined. A friend of mine who was a veteran endurance runner told me, “Run when you don’t feel like running.” Considering I often didn’t want to run, her advice helped.
The part of training smart that I had been missing was strength training. And as I started to get older and increased the daily pounding on my body, I needed something new to allow me to continue pushing my limits without injuring myself. I had heard about Wright Training through several friends who swore by it. I decided to give it a try. I was completely humbled! Barbells, squats, kettlebells, dumbbells, pullups, box jumps- I was terrible at all of it. Which is exactly why I kept going. I thought I was a decent athlete, but I was amazed at how unbalanced my strength was. It is the part of training that I cannot get anywhere else, even on the trail.
This spring I face a new challenge- the Bighorn 50K in Sheridan, Wyoming. I have been doing a running specific training program with Wright Training the past month, and will continue until my race on June 21st. Training is hard. I often feel tired, sore, and unmotivated. But I continue to show up, and do the work. No matter how the race goes, I love the adventure. The ups and downs; of seeing where I can push my body to go.
