chongqing girl lan xia running from 414 to 307 in two years
When it comes to Chongqing girls, the first impression is beauty.
This Chongqing girl is no exception. She has a high appearance, a bright smile, and a slim body that contains great energy. She runs gracefully and quickly, with a marathon PB of 3:07 and a half-marathon PB of 1:28. As of the Chongqing Marathon, she has completed 19 full marathons. She is Lan Xia (Yo丶Xiaoxizhuang).
- First marathon finished in 4:14 -
Three years ago, Lan Xia was still working at the airport. The pressure of work made her want to change herself through exercise. At first, she just ran casually by herself. After persisting for a while, Lan Xia felt that her overall mental state had greatly improved. Especially after joining the company's long-distance running association, she met many friends who liked running and couldn't stop under their influence. Gradually, Lan Xia also started her marathon journey...
In early November 2014, Lan Xia was pulled by her friends to participate in her first half marathon, finishing in 1 hour and 40 minutes and winning second place.
"At that time, I didn't even know the concept of a half marathon. The friend who pulled me in said it was just a bit more than 10KM, so I went. Before that, the most I had run was 10KM. I guess it was the fearlessness of a newborn calf."
Although she achieved a pretty good ranking, Lan Xia said that she finished the race purely on impulse at that time, with no concept of pace or distance. When she won second place, she was in a state of confusion.
However, this race experience also allowed Lan Xia to experience the fun of marathons. So, four months later, Lan Xia signed up for her first full marathon, the Qingyuan Marathon, with her friends, holding a playful attitude. This was a marathon held in heavy rain. Unlike the half marathon, the full marathon was quite strenuous for Lan Xia, who had no long-distance training. Fortunately, she had the company of her friends along the way, who helped her get through the wall phase. They encouraged each other to sprint to the finish line, completing the race in 4 hours and 14 minutes.
- She worked hard for a year to break 4 hours -
After finishing her first marathon, Lan Xia set a goal for herself: to run under 4 hours. It was this small goal that she worked hard for a year to achieve.
Subsequently, Lan Xia participated in other marathon events, but the results were not ideal. She even experienced cramps during the races, which severely affected her running state.
Lan Xia summarized her experience and found that her monthly mileage was too low, less than 50 kilometers. So, she decided to train well and break 4 hours at the 2016 Chongqing Marathon (running under 4 hours could exempt her from the lottery).
At this time, Lan Xia's brother, who loved running, volunteered to be her pacer. Throughout the winter, the siblings ran around the track, braving the cold, running lap after lap tirelessly. Throughout the winter, Lan Xia couldn't remember how many times she had run the Chongqing Marathon route... until the Chongqing Marathon arrived.
Competing at home for the first time, Lan Xia was so nervous that she didn't know what to do, fearing she wouldn't achieve her goal. Her brother comforted her, "Just run like usual!"
When she stood at the starting line, she was full of strength. She rushed out just like in training, gradually running faster and faster, sprinting to the finish line in one go, finishing in 3 hours and 38 minutes. This greatly exceeded her expectations, and she achieved her goal!
"When I ran the Chongqing Marathon in 3:38, I was very excited and more grateful. I thanked my brother for running laps with me on the track, thanked my family for supporting me, and thanked myself for not giving up on running."
A week after the Chongqing Marathon, Lan Xia ran another good time of 3:39 at the Shuangyi Marathon. This back-to-back race gave Lan Xia more confidence and courage. This Chongqing girl set a new goal for herself: to run under 3:30!
- Continuously challenging herself, PB 3:07 -
To run under 3:30, Lan Xia trained and prepared for a long time. At the 2016 Beijing Marathon, her sixth marathon, she successfully broke 3:30! At that moment, she couldn't contain her excitement and joy. This successful PB caused a sensation in the Chongqing running circle and allowed her to receive scientific and systematic training. Frequent training and competitions gave Lan Xia a new goal: to challenge 3:15 at the 2017 Beijing Marathon.
A month before the 2017 Beijing Marathon, Lan Xia accidentally sprained her right ankle, causing unbearable pain and making it impossible to complete her training, let alone participate in the race. While everyone was advising her to withdraw, she resolutely came to Beijing, persisted in finishing the race with pain, and finally finished in 3:19. Although she was a bit short of her 3:15 goal, she was very satisfied.
After finishing the Beijing Marathon, she rested for more than a month, then used races as training, continuously refreshing her PB. For Lan Xia, 2017 was the year she improved the fastest since she started running marathons, but she always maintained her love for running.
At the 2018 Xiamen Marathon, she crossed the finish line in heavy rain, setting another PB of 3 hours, 7 minutes, and 6 seconds, ranking 8th domestically. Lan Xia was overjoyed and couldn't believe she could achieve such a good result.
With her outstanding performance at the Xiamen Marathon, Lan Xia became the fastest amateur female runner in Chongqing and the most anticipated runner at the Chongqing Marathon.
- Three years of Chongqing Marathon, never absent -
If the 2016 Chongqing Marathon was about standing at the starting line, filled with surprises and excitement, and striving to break the 4-hour mark;
Then the 2017 Chongqing Marathon was about calmly arriving at the A-zone starting line, with less excitement and more calmness, wanting to move forward more steadily;
In 2018, standing at the starting line of the Chongqing Marathon again, she was unwell before the race but still firmly came to the starting line. She couldn't miss it, she firmly told herself. At this moment, she realized that running had deeply integrated into her life and had become her most loyal companion. This time, she just wanted to take a good look at this beautiful city.
"I love this city built on mountains, where two rivers converge and nurture me. I love the beauty of crossing mountains and waters, where prosperity and poverty create a visual contrast."
Lan Xia finally finished in 3:14. Although the process of running in pain was tough, when she crossed the finish line and hugged her waiting family, she showed her signature smile.
This is Lan Xia, an ordinary yet extraordinary post-90s runner, with a sweet smile and a bold running style!
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