Most people find that signing up for a race helps their running program. It gives them a goal to strive for, a distance that needs to be met. That works for me.

What doesn’t work for me is the fact that I literally make myself sick the morning of any given race. Am I vying to win? Heck no. My fear is that I won’t run the whole distance. That I’ll be trapped out on the course surrounded by people much better than me and beat myself up for roughly 34:15 minutes. This is enough to keep me from sleeping well the night before and well, a lot of belly pain before I take off.

Will life as I know it collapse upon itself if I don’t run the whole distance? Nope. Will the people around me point and laugh if I take a walking break? Probably not, seeing as I’m in the slow poke section where half of the group is speed-walking in khaki shorts and sandals. They aren’t there to judge. They’re just out to get some fresh air.

And so it came to me this weekend, I’m done. No, I am absolutely not done with running. It’s finally got to a point where it is almost enjoyable for me. But I am done signing up for races and stressing myself out for no apparent reason. I may still schedule certain Saturday mornings for my own little challenge, but it will be one more thing this only child does by herself. Hopefully, this keeps running fun and not stressful. I may come back to it someday, but this just isn’t for me for now.

Which brings me to my question for you – what should you give yourself permission to let go? What have you brought into your life that’s just not serving the purpose it should?

Before you ask what about the Arthritis Run, don’t worry…that one is still on the books. It is one worth an upset belly! I am more than halfway to my fundraising and team-raising goal. If I’ve got all the support of friends and family and folks from above, I should be able to eek out one last 5k with a bib on my shirt, right?! And if that all fails, I know there will be cookies waiting for me at the end. Cookies ALWAYS work.

Please join me for this last hoorah. Just go here to sign up for the team.