Inspired by Jayme and the New Balance Time Capsule initiative, I’m writing a letter to my future self. In a year, New Balance will return the email back to me, so I can see how far I’ve come.

Lindsay,

10 years ago you went for “your first run”. Remember when you had to stop after a couple hundred metres? Back when running 5 km felt like running a marathon? Those days are what have led you to where you are now. Today. You will have run the Boston Marathon (!), the New York City Marathon and the 10k at Ottawa Race Weekend in the Elite field (!!). That’s a lot to accomplish in 10 years. Especially for someone who said they’d never run a marathon, let alone qualify for Boston ~10 months after having a baby, and during your first marathon, where you were still recovering from an injury.

In those 10 years, you gave birth to two beautiful babies, and suffered the loss of two babies you never got to meet. Your strength, resilience and dedication to everything you do in life is something you should be so proud of. You are still too hard on yourself. It’s ok to not be perfect. You don’t have to worry about letting anyone down. You could fall flat on your face during a race and everyone would still be proud of you. You inspire your children and demonstrate to them the importance of being passionate about something in life and that hard work truly pays off. You still have big goals and dreams, and even faster times that you are chasing, but don’t get hung up on that. Enjoy the run. Embrace the good and the bad days. Don’t feel guilty about running on your treadmill most of the winter.

Running has brought so many incredible people into your life. Some you haven’t even met in person, but the bond and friendships are like none other. Running is such a big part of who you are as a person. It makes you happy. It has given you so much – and running knows that you appreciate it too. There are BIG things on the horizon for you, and in so many ways, you are just getting started.

Always keep dreaming big.

#MyFutureSelf