Kara Goucher: “I am not the same athlete I was before. And that’s OK.”

After what seemed like professional running retirement, Kara Goucher announced in November that she would be running the Houston Marathon in January. Goucher is a World Championship silver medallist, two-time Boston third place finisher and an American distance running legend.

RELATED: Kara Goucher set to run first marathon in nearly three years

In a blog post, Goucher opens up about her relationship with running and how it’s evolved from her pinnacle of elite competition. “At first I thought I could run about 2:32, but after a half-marathon a few weeks ago, I realized that 2:35-36 was a more realistic goal. And while the old me would have been embarrassed by this goal, I am not the least bit ashamed of it. Although I have run a LOT of miles in this preparation, not much in my life has been sacrificed for it. I am not the same athlete I was before. But that’s OK, I’m not trying to be.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BroyJNdn_uX/

Goucher is writing above about her goals for her upcoming race in Houston and how her priorities have shifted. “It’s not about the time. It’s about the love of putting in the work and then putting one foot in front of another.”

RELATED: Kara Goucher receives silver medal from 2007 worlds one decade later

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrfgWPmnCOZ/

Goucher continues to say that just because she can’t run as fast, doesn’t mean her love for running has faded. The Houston Marathon and Goucher have some history. It’s where she made her second Olympic team seven years ago. She said in a Instagram post in November: “I have no racing requirements in my four sponsorship/partnership contracts, I no longer feel like I need to prove anything to anyone, this is just for me. For my joy of running, training hard and running the marathon.” Her personal best in the marathon is 2:25:53.