A New Season

As an 18-year-old freshman in college, I abruptly predicted that my time as a runner would end immediately after I graduated from Blue Mountain College (BMC). Yes, I was preparing for retirement at 22 years old--an age I assumed to be ancient in 2017. In my mind, there was a season for everything, and seasons could not last very long. From my "mature" perspective, four more years of competition in both cross country and track was a lot and required recovery that would last a lifetime (I was, and still am, quite dramatic). 

In that season of my life, the years did not appear to fly by. Training and competition became ever-present in my life by senior year. It wasn't a burden, simply a long-term state of being. However, I would be lying if I said that my final cross-country race representing Blue Mountain College (now Blue Mountain Christian University) did not catch me by surprise. 

An additional surprise was that I was still committed to
collegiate racing at the end of my senior year. As the season of burnout began encroaching on my mind, I was given another opportunity to toe the line for

another university. After much reflection, coupled with recurring thoughts of "do I really want to do this again?" I signed up for a fifth season of cross country and track: Graduate School Edition. Soon after graduation from BMC, I entered Valdosta State University (VSU) to complete a master's degree and compete on VSU's cross-country team.

The absence of burnout baffled me. Perhaps the new environment, people, and training regimens rekindled the dying spark that was my love for running. 

After many months of running 50-60 miles per week and near-daily weightlifting, I entered my fifth cross-country season as a mentally and physically stronger woman. It's amazing what maturity, a consciously better diet, and most likely a hundred other good things can do. 

Alongside a better racing season, I gained a family in my teammates. We carried each other through extremely difficult workouts, harrowing friendships, personal crises, and a boatload of ridiculously fun times. I felt like I belonged, I loved racing again, and I loved my teammates. 

 After a solid cross-country season, I was catapulted into the best track season of my life--racing faster than I'd hoped to in many years. The coolest thing was that I was able to do this along with teammates that I loved and celebrated with. 

Contrary to Freshman Leah Johnson's prediction of sudden retirement at 22 years old, I ended my final year of collegiate eligibility ready for more. I was ridiculously fit and very confident. The sky was the limit! I continued to train with my old teammates while I finished my master's degree in Exercise Physiology. I would soon be moving to the state of Virginia to complete a PhD in Clinical Physiology and Metabolism at Virginia Tech. Because of this, it was imperative that my old teammates (now friends) and I pack as many fun times as possible into three months. 

  

The summer quickly became a season of drastic change as I experienced a host of events that very quickly became extremely difficult to process. While complex coursework and harrowing comprehensive exams were anticipated tasks of high difficulty, the near-abrupt deaths of cherished relationships also presented themselves as the main characters in my

summertime story. Unfortunately for my 22-year-old mind and body, the aftermath of these experiences was unavoidable, and my grief presented itself in physical pain and exhaustion. 

I stopped running. It hurt so much. I found other ways to exercise. I hopped on a stationary bike and cycled until I was too tired and dehydrated to care. I made attempts to create consistent running habits over the next few months (while moving and getting used to a completely different state), but many times I found myself recovering from 25 to 30-minute runs for multiple days. Because of this, I decided to enjoy learning new places and making new friends--putting my desire to run on the back burner for a time. 

After a semester of learning my new home at Virginia Tech, beginning a PhD, finding fellowship with good people, and saying goodbye to a past that I could not have back; I found myself having enough energy to go for a run on a Tuesday after a run on the day before... Running daily became a habit again, and I was excited for every run--from 2-milers to 10-milers--each one was an individual victory. I was soon adopted by a running community, and I soon fell in love once again with running...every day...as much as I reasonably could. 

This year has been one filled with layers upon layers of fantastic experiences--both in my running world and everything beyond that (because I am more than a runner, didn't you know?). I've started racing again! After intentionally avoiding race sign-ups for the better part of a year, I took the plunge; committing to training and racing for the win. I've run five races this year so far, and I think I've run them well. I recently "branched out" and completed a 5000m track race, running a post-collegiate personal best of 18:31 (that got me REALLY pumped). Even better, I have gained new friends and cherished conversations. 

I'm not sure what my running future looks like. Sometimes I consider stopping within the next month and sometimes believe I could make the 2032 Olympic Team...with more specialized training. For now, I'm happy to stay in the present and celebrate life with Jesus...one mile at a time. 

                                                                                                               ~Aubrey Leah