There are times where I’ve come into a longer run where I just don’t think I have what it takes. Those times are the times where I need to keep pushing through and see what’s possible. I need to know, when I hit that limit, can I go any further? If I can, then I know I could probably go a little further again. And again. And so on. I won’t know or recognize my limitations by quitting every time I hit the wall.
The picture above was the marathon I ran this past weekend a little over a week ago. I was only about 3.5 miles into the run, and rain came into the area. That rain continued to pour for the next 23+ miles. At mile 15 I hit the wall when usually with my training I would have hit that same wall about mile 20. This was not going my way. Mentally and physically I was not ready for 45 degrees, being soaking wet everywhere, and hypothermia. I was done.
But some how, I got it together. I knew my hopes of a PR over last year’s same run was not going to happen. I almost went into panic mode. But, remembering the mental toughness training I did I got myself calmed down and started to conserve energy. I was able to clearly monitor more closely how I was breathing. Saving you a longer story so we can get to the point of all this, I finished and got my medal. Another marathon completed.
The GTTW moment here is we all have a little more. If we don’t push, really push through it, we might never realize what’s possible. Putting ourselves through it in the moment really sucks. However, everything it can teach us, how we handle stress in real time, and ultimately reach our goal is so valuable for the future challenges ahead of us. If you can just finish, reflect, and then catalog the experience you’ll find in the future anything that is remotely less challenging will be so much easier.
Thanks for reading. Hope you have a great weekend!
✌🏻 Shawn
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