Meaghan Brown’s Post

Set bigger goals. Shorten your timelines. No one underestimates you more than you do yourself. In 2023, I set a goal to run a single 5K by fall. I ran my first by summer and finished the year with 6 total races and a longest training run of 8.6 miles - the most I'd ran in my life, with or without POTS. In 2024, I set a goal to run a single half-marathon. I signed up for one in November, giving myself plenty of time to train, hopefully making failure as least likely as possible. By February 3rd, I'd increased my distance to 10 miles. By March, I ran my first half marathon. And Saturday, I ran my 2nd half marathon and 7th race of the year. I didn't overwork myself. I didn't stay hyperfocused. I didn't negate other priorities. I didn't avoid rest and taking breaks. But what I did do was underestimate myself. And the power of showing up everyday, doing however much I could. Set your goals. Do what you can. You'll go further, faster than you think you will. Thankful for those who've ever seen more in me than I've seen in myself.

It's never a straight line. It was never meant to be. I don't know when we got in our heads progress was like a ladder. Equal, paced, calculated steps. One in front of the other, always up and forward. That if you didn't beat what you did yesterday, you failed. And if you weren't shooting for something bigger tomorrow, you weren't pushing hard enough. Things take time. Circumstances change. The unplanned and unexpected make an appearance. Maybe it was us. We weren't up for it today. We were over confident. Our priorities shifted. But zoom out. Add a trend line. Put where you are next to where you started. Remind yourself how far you have come. If today didn't work, you have tomorrow. And if you don't have tomorrow, it doesn't matter much anymore anyway. Give yourself the grace you give everyone else. And keep going. You're doing great. __ Below are my average mile times by month for the last year. May has felt like such a slow start, coming off April. But there's a reason I track my progress - to remind myself I'm doing AWESOME. Even when I don't feel like it. 16'20" 19'20" 12'36" 11'49" 13'06" 11'22" 11'02" 11'14" 11'31" 11'03" 10'22" 10'59" Picture of a mare because I am blessed to run in my old Kentucky home. Also, how many charts and graphs do I have of my running progress? Well, you see....

No matter your “rank”, if these aren’t in your current vocabulary, it’s time to give them a try.

NEW PR TWO WEEKS IN A ROW 🏃♀️ 💪 My mom told me I was crazy for running in sub-freezing temps this winter. Was I? Probably. Especially when I did 2.5mi in 15 degree Chicagoland wind chill. In the dark. 🙃 But my response to her was "Just imagine how fast I'll be when I thaw out." And boy, was I right. I gained significant distance over the last several months but wasn't getting any faster. In some ways, I was even slower. My last 5K was a 33:22. Two weeks before that, I had tied for one of my fastest 5Ks at just 31:55. But this past Saturday, only a week past my half-marathon, I opted to race on the same course as my very "first" 5K in August. My August time? 33:59. Saturday's time? 30:02 👀 October, November, December, January, and February were long, cold, grueling months. But real progress isn't made on the "easy" days. And real progress may not always show real-time. But just you wait.... One day the snow will melt. Muscles will thaw. Joints will loosen. And you'll realize every early morning. Every slow mile. Every failed attempt. Every runny nose and achy hip. Every hard thing you did when you didn't have to. Every step you took mattered. And was worth more than you imagined. Keep going.

I can't wait to get my hands on one!

You hear it everywhere but I've heard it more in the running world than anywhere else. "Consistency is key." Consistency IS key. Consistency just isn't always what we think it is. It's not showing up every single morning. It's not perfection, never missing a beat. It's not "1% better every day." "acting or done in the same way over time." This is Google's definition, courtesy of Oxford Languages. "over time". Not over minutes and hours. Maybe not over weeks. Maybe you need to zoom out over months and years. Do you see a pattern? Are you seeing results? Then by definition, you've found consistency. Even if you can't show up today. Or for a few days. Even if this week is hard. Even if you need a break. There's peace found when you know you can catch your breath today. And lean in again tomorrow. Consistency is key. But don't let others define what consistency means for you.

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