What I learned from doing Half…
I decided back in October of 2010 that when I turned 40 years old, in January 2011 I would run a half-marathon. 13.1 miles. I had this wild idea that since I was through half my life, I would try something I had never done before. I already drive a sporty car and have a beautiful (Hot) wife so for my mid-life crisis, I didn’t think this was a bad choice and something I could do without being “stupid”.
It really set in one day when I was out on a run, on the Dam of Joe Pool Lake. I decided that day to run across the Dam and back. I didn’t know how far it was but I did know it was farther than I had ever run. Turns out it was over 10 miles. During that run, when I felt like turning around, I would encourage myself to go a little further and a little further. I completed the task I set out to do that day and it took me almost 2 hours. At that point, it was the longest distance I had ever run. That was the day when I felt like, I can do this if I set my mind to it. I even thought maybe I could get someone to run it with me.
I trained, sort of, and even sustained a pretty major injury a month before the race but I was signed up, had paid my entry fee and even talked my 15-year-old nephew into joining me. It would be a first for both of us. So on January 29th, at the age of 40, I ran in and completed a Half-Marathon. Again 13.1 miles, every one of them. My nephew completed it as well.
Here are some things I learned from doing Half:
1. Don’t get sucked in to the excitement of others. At the beginning of the race, when everyone is lined up to start, there is this incredible energy in the atmosphere. When the gun went off everyone is rushing to get started. Now I had set a pace goal in my mind of a 10 minute mile. All I wanted to do for my first race is to complete the distance. My first mile I ran in under 8 minutes. When I looked down at my watch I thought, wow, I should really slow this down or I won’t be able to sustain the pace and complete the distance.
2. Never do in the tests of life what you have not trained for, it can make you sick and cause doubt that you will be able to finish. At one point, a sponsor gave out an energy drink. It is supposed to enhance performance. Now I had one before and didn’t like it, but thought it would give me what I needed to finish. I took it and drank and almost got sick. I had to drink water at the next 3 drink stations to dilute it and feel better. For a while I doubted I would be able to finish. As it turns out, to finish what I had set before me, I didn’t need anything else, only me.
3. You can do anything if you set your mind to it. I completed the race in a time of 2 hours 9 minutes and 20 seconds. It was a time faster than my original pace goal. I came in 293 place. My nephew finished 193 (at a considerably faster time than me). No one can tell me I didn’t win. My finishing metal is a reminder of something great that I did.
4. Don’t compare yourself to others around you. I didn’t win the overall race, but I won my race. There are all sorts of people who run. Some run faster. Some run further. Some don’t but I didn’t spend over 2 hours comparing myself to them. I still don’t. I only had one thing in mind during that race; Finish the distance I had set out to do. I know only have one thing in mind; Finish the race set before me.
5. Encouragement can carry you a long way and mile markers help. During my training I had Emily to encourage me. During the race people were lined up all over the course clapping and holding up signs. The course had mile marker showing the distance. It was those things that carried me through.
6. The pain is worth it. I lost 4 pounds during the race (water weight) and it was hard to walk for a couple of days afterward but I am glad I did it.
7. You can help others accomplish something they have never done before as well. I paid my nephew’s entry fee and picked up his “race” packet. It was my gift to him. I didn’t won’t to go through this task alone. I knew that if someone close to me was in the same race, it would keep me going. A couple of weeks after the race, my nephew sent me a “Thank You” card. In it he poured out his heart. It made me cry (in a good way). He said it was my time talking on the phone and my encouragement that helped him during training. The truth is, it was he who encouraged me the most.
God used this experience in my life. My life will never be the same. No one can ever tell me I can’t do something if I set my mind to it. And even though there is great pain in the tasks we have set before us, the accomplishing of those makes it all worth it. At the end of this race I was reminded of the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7. I am running the race of life and at the end hope to be able to quote the same words. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Matt's Anthology 