Bold Moves

…the tough get going!! Such a common phrase, is it true? When life gets hard or the training run is kicking your butt, do you keep going or do you give in to those desires to quit? I’ve found that the key to NOT quitting when times are hard is to plan ahead.

Think about the tough obstacles that can pop up and decide that you WILL overcome them. I find this to be true in life, whether it’s work or relationships, learning something new, taking risks, or training for and running a marathon. If you think about the possible obstacles and one by one, consciously decide that you WILL work through them, then you will. If you don’t plan ahead, it increases the probability that you’ll give in to those “can we quit now?” voices.

Life example…I’ve been married to a wonderful, amazing man for 18 years! This doesn’t just happen. We’ve had highs and lows over the years, survived relocations, job changes and raising two great girls. We don’t agree on everything. But we do agree that our relationship is very important; more important than the things we disagree on. It would have been easy along that 18 year journey for either of us to throw in the towel and walk away. We committed to support a successful marriage and so here we are, recently celebrating 18 years together. My only regret is that we didn’t meet sooner!

Running example…I ran my first marathon at the age of 49! Yesterday a friend of mine mentioned that his son will run his first marathon in Oct. He told his son, “do it while you’re young enough!” I chuckled to Hubby about it later…apparently 49 is “young enough!” I am now 53 and training for my 5th full marathon on Oct 11th. This is a recovery week so my long run today called for 14-16 miles. I knew it would be hot/humid so I kept my goal open; try for 16 but absolutely hit 14. Last week’s long run was 20 miles and 22 is looming ahead. This morning I had to rely on many things to get through the last 2 miles. By that time, the temp had risen to 95 degrees (including heat index) and the bright sun was really draining my strength. My legs felt great but I was feeling the effects of the heat. I wanted to quit. I reminded myself that running in these conditions would pay off big time during that Oct marathon. The last mile was just wretched. I was overheating. I slowed down. I thought of my sister West Point grad in Ranger School right now, trudging through Florida Swamp Phase in full gear, carrying an 85lb rucksack, focused on her goal to be the 3rd woman to graduate. I dug deeper, drank the last of my fluids, and kept running. I finished 14.1 miles and oddly, ended up with a negative split despite the awful heat!

I made the decision a long time ago that I would not quit in life, not in training, and not in races. I will persevere. I will adapt to circumstances and overcome. I rely on that promise to myself, and calling on the Lord for some extra strength, whenever I’m in trouble. I plan ahead.

What obstacles do you face? Think about them and commit to overcome them.
Never Quit; Finish Strong!