There is just something about this RUNNING thing that keeps us coming back for more and more! It can’t always be explained and even fully understood…I mean, we put in all this work that especially seems “torturous” to the world, and yet, we keep doing it, in hopes that we have that “MOMENT” where it all lines up and you feel unstoppable! The truth is…that “unstoppable” feeling seems to rarely happen, but after each race, key workout, or just a “dumb” run around school, there always seems to be A CHANGE! This is the beauty that most don’t see, or get (many times we don’t even notice it!), but RUNNING creates an opportunity to open us up…get out of the comforts of life…challenge us to reach deep more often then we would like…trust that the process WILL teach us something, even if the outcome isn’t always ideal!
We want you to know that we are very happy for all of you and how you performed at REGION! Sure, it may not have been “ideal” for everyone, but even through the struggles, there were still MOMENTS of strength and courage and toughness that will be key for even bigger and better things to come! We witnessed so many of you not just improve, but really kick some booty from the last time we ran on this course (even those who had less than ideal races, still ran right around previous times)! Of course, some of the other teams had some kids run amazing and really made it tough for us…but honestly, THAT IS WHAT WE WANT! We can’t control how others perform, but we saw it really help you to push yourselves even more, to go after every moment until you crossed that finish line and have big PR's! So many times in life, you will be asked to GIVE even though it might feel unsure, scary, tiring, maybe even pointless, but we are here to tell you that every OPPORTUNITY to get out of the comfort zone (which is what running does everyday!), is worth the chance that you WILL CHANGE for the BETTER!
My last thought has to do with the title of the blog! May seem a little weird, but stick with the story and you might actually like it! No matter how many times we CONSISTENTLY work at this…Running every day, believing every day, trusting every day, it may not always turn out the way we want or expect! But that is truthfully the reason to keep doing it! Sure, it would be nice to recreate every single Great MOMENT we ever had…especially in our races, BUT THE STRUGGLES, THE PAIN, THE BLISS, THE HEART POUNDING, THE BUTTERFLIES, THE SMILES, THE FRIENDS, THE CHANGE…they are all worth every single CHANCE to BECOME the very person you want to be! I have run 57 marathons now! And as I was running my 57th at St. George this weekend, I had some “TIME” to think about so many of my experiences and how most of my marathons were all different from one another! Believe me, I have tried to recreate some of my best marathons…train the same way, prepare the day before the same way, think the same way, and have completely different outcomes! Except for one thing seems to always be the same…I AM BETTER FOR IT! My “A” Goal for this marathon was to see if I could qualify for the Boston Marathon (not because I need to go back to Boston), but because I need a reason to keep “CHANGING” and challenging myself! The time for my age is 3:20! Over the last 2-3 years, I wasn’t even sure if I would get to do what I love anymore…my knee (and the rest of me!), had some struggles…it’s called LIFE! But as I have stuck with it and “weathered the storm” I have found myself so GRATEFUL for all that I went through! It still doesn’t all make sense to me, but I FEEL the CHANGE in me because of it! So even though the “A” goal was much more difficult for me, I still worked and believed like I could do that! Now here is where the story I think can benefit YOU! 26 miles can give you a lot of time to have your mind wander! Moments of powerful positive thoughts to get you through, and other times, there is doubt and just waiting for everything to just crash…sound familiar? I had made up my mind (awhile ago), that I was going to stick to the plan and if it fell apart later on, then I would deal with it (try plan “B” which was just finish!). But even while running the first half, I was feeling ok and breathing relaxed, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could stick with it! What if my knee falls apart, or maybe the pace was just a little bit too much for me to really handle for that long and "I hit the WALL" and the list goes on, but then I would think of you guys, my family, my love for running, and immediately “shake it off” (there’s my Swifty reference!), and remind myself that I was strong and my mind wasn’t going to be the one to hold me back from fighting to the end! I remember at the half way point, and my legs were already feeling the beating of being on the road for 1 hour and 40 minutes (right on pace still), and telling myself I now needed to do what I just did, AGAIN, but definitely more tired and beat up though! It was going to be a long stretch but once again, reminded myself to just be in this moment right now! I can tell you, I had multiple moments of thoughts cross my mind of me “Bonking” with several miles to go and wobbling across the finish line miserable (which I still would have been grateful), but then immediately reminding myself to stop thinking like that and be positive…to trust, to hang on…to be better than that! Crazily, by mile 16 I felt a little fresher, and picked up the pace just a little! Maybe it was because I passed one of my graduates who noticed me and we chatted for awhile and it was so nice to realize that running had brought this amazing connection to so many for me! At mile 18 I was passing so many people, I felt like I was flying (even though I was just sticking to the pace and they were starting to fall off their paces). I remember a very enthusiastic guy cheering and saying I only had 52,000 more feet to go! My brain couldn’t fathom that, yet I couldn’t help but smile and appreciate the distraction! Around mile 21, my hammy started to get really tight…I could work through it, but I knew that it was going to limit me from really going after it and pushing my body to the max! But I kept the pace and was really happy to be in this moment! As we got closer to town, and only a 5K left, I still believed I could do this…in fact, I knew that if my hammy would hang on, I would get my “A” goal! But then mile 24! Just 2 miles to go, I made a turn on the road and my left hamstring just knotted up! I grabbed my leg and had to stretch it out…I could feel the golf ball sized knot in my leg as I tried to stretch it out! As I would try to start to run again, it would just knot back up and I would stretch it again. Then my right calf twinged on me and now the frustration came flooding out! “I was so close!” I was almost there! I stood there for about 1 min trying to get this under control only to watch the Pace Setters for the 3:20 pace going running by! I had come this far, I was not going to let it end like this! I started off slowly and caught up to the 3:20 group. I would slowly pull ahead of them, because I knew from previous races, I was going to need to stop and stretch my hammy at times, to make it to the end. Sure enough, at mile 25, I stopped for a few seconds and stretched my hammy to help it feel “LOVED” and relax it, and hopefully get it to the end…the 3:20 pace group passed me again and I started running again and hung on to the back of them. When you make the final turn to the finish line, there is about half a mile to go! I managed to change my stride a bit to look like an old man, shuffling his legs, barely lifting my feet off the ground but it allowed my hammy to stay in check and I begun to pick up the pace! I was getting closer and closer, not looking at my watch, just focused on what I could do! And you know what I enjoyed? I loved that I was in a moment that mattered to me…that I was pushing for a chance to be close to my goal! I crossed the finish line, stopped my watch and walked a few feet before I checked the time! It said 3:18! I ran the last half mile at 6:52 pace (not sure I want to see the form on that video! 😂). As much as that was hopefully a story that was entertaining and fun to read, the main reason for sharing it is so that you can see that throughout the race, I had moments of doubt, questions, uncertainty, but I just kept working on replacing it with things that were important to me, and being positive and loving the chance to just be there! As insignificant as RUNNING my seem (especially to the rest of the World), just maybe you are starting to FEEL the CHANGE that is and has happened in you! You were already amazing! Running just helps us dig a little deeper, and bring out the hidden treasures that help us BECOME more! 57 marathons now and interestingly, the story is different every time! The one consistency of it all (and the reason we preach about consistency), is that after the “Finish line” I realize I am better for it... each time!
