11/12/2023
A week later and I'm still aching here and there. I wanted a faster time, I wanted to walk less, I wanted to be in less pain. But I finished, and I loved it.
asked back in the spring if I wanted to challenge myself to run a half marathon with her. I've never been a runner and honestly never liked it at all. But with a new baby at home I thought I needed the motivation so reluctantly agreed.
Between injuries, work, a busy summer and spending time with baby the training was tricky and non-linear, but I made it to the starting line relatively confident.
Race day was crazy, surrounded by people and energy. The run itself was a battle, my mental toughness was tested in a way it hadn't been while running before, and my body didn't want to cooperate. But I finished. And I'll be back next year with an eye on improving.
My takeaways from the run:
-I need to run my own race, and not worry about trying to keep up with other people.
-race the way you train. I changed a lot about how I ran for the race, from the hat I wore to the music I listened to while running. I felt uncomfortable right from the start because it wasn't what I was used to.
-use the energy from other people but the ultimate drive has to be internal. It was a totally new experience for me to have people cheering me on from the sidelines, and that threw me for a loop at first. It took me half the run before I was able to find the internal drive to push myself, while allowing the cheers to give me an extra boost.
But I finished.
These are running lessons of course, but I think they apply to life in general. The battles and challenges pop up, but the goal always needs to be finishing what you start.
I've convinced a few friends to begin running already, and I'm feeling really excited about a few runs I've signed up for next year.
If you see me around feel free to stop me and say hi, I'll be the guy who apparently likes running now?