Who am I? Why do I run? And what else goes on in my life?

My first blog entry! I have been wanting to start this for a while, but life always came in between. A pretty busy life, too, at least before the “coronavirus thing”.

But first things first.

Why, oh why, would anybody care about me or any of what I want to share on this blog? Well, maybe no one will. But perhaps there are likeminded people out there, people who can relate to my daily life struggles as a young academic, parent, partner, and (more importantly in this context) runner, with whom I can share experiences, struggles, training plans, inspirations, stories, gear reviews, and so much more.

But before that, I would like to spend a few words on who I am, what I do, and what my goals are. This will probably be a longer post, mainly because of some introductory details I would like to share.

 

Let’s start from the most important part, given that the main topic of this blog will be RUNNING. I am a passionate runner. Alas, I am not a professional runner, and likely never will be. I run for fun, for fitness, and above all, for peace of mind. It’s only when I am out there that my mind can relax and focus on one single thing, which typically is my running mantra of the day. I am not a fast runner at all, either, at least not compared to many fellow amateur runners. I am certainly proud of my 5K, 10K and half marathon PBs, I have won the occasional low-key race in my age group, and I also have ambitious goals for the future (more about that later), but it is very unlikely that I will ever stand out as a runner.

 

I started running only some 8 years ago, but I’ve only really managed to be consistent in the last year and a half or so. I was somewhat sporty before that, I grew up hiking in the Swiss Alps, and in my late teens and early twenties I was a snowboard instructor, but I was never a runner. However, I am very competitive, particularly when it comes to competing against myself. So one day in 2012 I decided that I need to run a marathon before I’m 30, just because that sounded like something I could realistically achieve with some sweat and effort, while at the same time feeling like I would win against myself if I actually managed. My goal was to run the Rome marathon in 2013, but just a few weeks into training I realized I was pregnant.

Fast forward to March 2014. I now had a lovely baby and had just started my PhD, so with these two rather significant life events keeping me busy, I downscaled my ambitions to a half marathon. I promptly signed up for one in September of that year and started training again. My goal was to run it under 2 hours. I ran it in 1:59:44 chip time and was over the moon, genuinely hooked, but did not manage to stay focused on running after that. Long story short: life happened with research, conferences, dissertation writing, and child #2, and I only managed to really start running again in 2017. I ran my second HM that year but had to put running on hold again due to a nasty pneumonia followed by several months of recovery.

 

As a runner I am now a few thousand KM and several races older, but still far from being an expert in the field. I just came back from yet another forced running break, and my current goal is a fall HM (COVID permitting) under 1 hour 45 minutes. At the same time, I am also preparing a trans-continental move to take up my new position as an assistant professor in astronomy, so lots going on right now!

 

If you got this far in reading my first post: why should you want to read future posts? Through this blog I want to share the every-day struggles (and achievements!) of a runner/mom/academic, but the main aim is to hear back from other runners and hear about their stories and daily adventures as life in this crazy world goes on. So stay tuned, and share your thoughts!