Thanksgiving Sunday I ran my first half-marathon race. Racing is hard. The first part usually goes pretty smoothly because of the adrenaline and excitement of racing, but that gets old by the half way mark. Running as fast as you can for as long as you can hurts. Your muscles scream at you to stop. Your lungs cry out for a rest. And it’s all up to your mind to make it happen.
My racing strategy is to run my goal pace for as long as I physically can. If I can no longer keep up, then I must slow down, but I will not until there is no other option. And when I’m in the throes of racing purgatory, I ask myself: Can I still go on? And although I may be in pain, the answer is yes, -for now- I can. And so I do.
Then, sometimes there comes a point at which I feel like I can’t possibly go any more. I’m barely holding on, and I’m reaching the bottom of the barrel. I need to slow down or I won’t make it. But when I see the finish line ahead, or a competitor edges up beside me, I find a burst of speed to beat it out to the end. And I have learned something about myself; when I feel this devoid of resources, when feel like I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel, it wasn’t really the bottom at all. I had more energy left in the tank but I didn’t know that until I powered it out at the end.
The human being is capable of amazing feats and I am only attempting one miniscule portion of what is possible. People have endured much more pain and much greater expenditures than whatever I am faced with today, so yes, the barrel is deeper than you think. Much, much deeper.
My lesson for today: Don’t give up. You can do it, even if you think you can’t.
Among many other things I am thankful for my health and strength, that I may strive to reach my goals, achieve success, and set myself new challenges. Happy Thanksgiving!
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