How do I start this thing?
Ramblings, etc.
Wow, here we are. Lauren typing into a computer with one of her last remaining brain cells. I hope to share my general musings—on life, training, injuries, racing, and life as a professional runner—in the most personal and authentic way I can.
Let’s get one thing clear: I’m a University of Arkansas-educated professional runner, so take that how you will. I majored in Engineering, not exactly a linguistics heavy field of study. But if we’re being honest, I majored in exercising, getting injured, and learning to survive, and temporarily thrive, in the NCAA system. Now that I’ve successfully sandbagged this whole blog post, we can begin.
What am I up to, you may ask? The year is 2025, the month is April, and the day of the week is rarely known to me. I am sitting in Phoenix, Arizona, passing some time between a bike session and an alter-g session. I’ve been here for the past two months as all of my plans caught fire due to an extremely rare running injury (pause for dramatic effect)… achilles tendinosis. Yes, I’m begging you—please pity me. So now I’m back on the ole X-train, PT, panic, repeat schedule, and man, am I getting tired of it. On a positive note, I’ve handled this injury better than ever before. Hopefully it’s a sign I’m maturing as an athlete. That said, I did a solid ‘3xcry’ and ‘1xwalllow’ during a 3x(10x1min) bike workout just the other day. Don’t worry, I cooled down to “Turn My Swag On” (full blast in the headphones, obviously) like nothing just happened. Not every day is perfect but neither am I, so that’s where we are at.
What does handling an injury ‘well’ even mean? For me, it is staying the course— taking care of what I can control: PT, massage, cross training, lifting, fueling, sleeping, and stress management. I also rely heavily on routine and lean into my hermit tendencies— sometimes this is the best time for it. Checking boxes with intentionality and handling business each day becomes my sole focus. I try to make objective, rational decisions for the elusive ‘future self’ (something I’m not usually great at). Sometimes, that decision is to panic-text Ben (my coach), so he can be objective and rational for me.
Anyway, I have decided to start writing because maybe my thoughts will resonate with someone else’s. Maybe putting more of myself out there will help someone—or at least help me stop hiding behind doubt and fear. Talking about myself doesn’t come naturally, but I’ll do my best to share who I am and what my story looks like, in one way or another. That’s all for now.