Half Marathon Reflections
This essay was initially published in the Monday morning newsletter on 10/2/23.
Last Sunday, I completed a big personal goal and ran my first half marathon. It was an amazing day!
Overall, I had a really great experience. I mean… there aren’t many things in life that are as straightforward as following a training plan and crossing a literal finish line 🙂
But what made the experience all the more meaningful is that 72 hours before the race, I didn’t think I was going to do it.
Running is still somewhat new-to-me, and it was back in 2021 when I discovered I have something called IT band syndrome. Especially when running longer distances, my IT band can get irritated. If it flares up, I feel a sharp pain on the outside of my knee (only on the left side for some reason!). Luckily, I’ve found a great sports medicine chiropractor who helps me manage it through “active release technique” stretching. It hasn’t been much of an issue the past couple years (yay!), but it was something that was in the back of mind while training.
I was worried at some point my IT band would be triggered and I wouldn’t be able to complete the half.
Unfortunately, the week of the race, I went out for one last long run and didn’t even make it halfway before feeling the familiar sharp pain.
After that run – and admittedly a few tears – I thought about not doing the race out of fear of not being able to run it “in the way I had planned” (shortsighted thinking… I know…).
Luckily, my chiropractor talked me into it, and once I decided I would do it, I adjusted my definition of success. Success would mean running as long as I could until my knee started to hurt, and then keeping a good attitude the rest of the race.
This brings me to my first of two takeaways from my half marathon (of course there are takeaways!)…
Takeaway #1: Reframing is a very powerful tool.
With help from my chiropractor, intentional stretching up to race day and purposefully planned Advil’s throughout, I made it through the entire half marathon without my IT band flaring up/knee pain. I’m not sure how exactly this happened, but I’m SO THANKFUL!
Of course, I got tired during the half and negative thoughts started to creep in, but at the same time, I also kept thinking “I can’t believe my knee doesn’t hurt!!! This is amazing!!!”
The reframe led to me running much faster and thoroughly enjoying the experience.
It was a good reminder for myself of the power of doing things like thinking about “what’s going well” or jotting down a quick gratitude list daily.
There are always going to be hard, tiring things around us that vie for our attention. That’s why it’s all the more important to also remind ourselves of the good.
The second takeaway from my half marathon experience is also simple…
Takeaway #2: A lot of progress can be made in three months.
It was amazing to me that over the course of three months, I could do from running 4-5 miles to running 10-11. Still, a week after my half marathon, I’m still a bit shocked that this was a goal I was able to accomplish. But truly… small, consistent actions have astounding, compounding results.
With the start of October, we’re now into the last three months of the year. This past week, I’ve found myself reflecting on what “half marathon” (not in the physical sense), I want to “train for” and complete by end of year. Maybe something around investing in the relationships in my life? A certain list of books I want to read? A creative project?
Three months might not seem like that long of time, but commitment to a plan and consistent small actions can make all the difference.
Is there anything you’re focused on for the rest of 2023? I’d love to hear about it!