Motivational Monday

As you may already know, if you follow my Instagram, I ran my second half marathon yesterday. I have to admit, I was so close to not running it at all.

Last Sunday, I set out for a four mile run. I was telling myself, "Alright, the race is only seven days away, let's see if this is possible!" Keep in mind, my runs at this point had practically been non-existent. My only goal was to run the four miles without stopping. The first two miles are always the worst for me as I'm trying to figure out my pace and my body is getting used to my breathing. After getting used to all of that, I was able to enjoy just how perfect of a fall a day it was. 

picture via Pinterest

As I neared the four mile marker and was going to hop in my car, I got the urge to keep running. I continued running an extra mile or two and felt great! I got home and decided I had to run the half. Then I saw this, which confirmed it even more, and thought, "Damn, her." I couldn't let myself make any excuses of why I shouldn't run the race, or why I "couldn't" run the race. Before this, I kept thinking, "Agh, I haven't had time to run lately and I might not improve on my time." Sure, I wish I would've gotten a lot a few more runs in before the race, then maybe I would've gotten a better time, but who cares? The point was that I told myself I was going to do something and I needed to follow through and just do it. Very Nike of me, huh?

 
  picture via Pinterest 

The following day, I set out to run ten miles [I'm telling you guys, I'm not good at training. By no means am I suggesting you jump into a long run like I did]. I knew this would be my longest run before the race and my goal was to not walk... but I did; five times [insert disappointment]. I have a little case of asthma and actually found that if I allow myself to walk for 10-20 seconds at a time, it helps improve my breathing and gives me a little more energy. My final time was 1:26:00 --not as good as my time was back in May but I did it! It's amazing what you can accomplish if you just tell yourself, "Yes, I can." It's all in your head, really. If you go into something thinking that you're going to fail, you're probably going to fail! You'd be surprised what the outcome is when you go into something with a positive prospective.

picture via Pinterest

Many people look at me like I'm crazy and ask, "You're paying to run 13.1 miles?" but for me, the money doesn't really matter because when you think about it, the feeling of accomplishing a goal and being proud of your self is pretty priceless, isn't it? After all, setting goals, whether they be big or small, is what keeps us moving forward, causing us to be more driven, work harder, and be better than we were before. 

 picture via Pinterest

Around mile seven is when my knees start to hurt and my body starts to lock up a bit. I think to myself, "Whyyyy am I doing this?!", but I keep going because I know that the feeling of crossing the finish line [and devouring tons of food afterwards] will make it all worth it. It's weird actually, as soon as I cross the finish line I can't wait to run another one [in due time, of course]. Are any of you guys like this with races?

picture via Pinterest 

For the first half marathon, my goal was no stopping and no walking. Half way through the race I set another goal: do not let the 1:50:00 pacers pass you up! I accomplished all three and finished with a time of 1:48:56. Aside from showing up [which is sometimes the hardest part] and "just doing it", my goal for yesterday's race was to try and beat my last half marathon time, even if it was just by a few seconds. With just two miles to go, I thought I would beat my old time. Unfortunately, I was spent around mile 12 and finished with a time of 1:49:56 [exactly one minute slower than my last time, weird right?] and placed 98 out of 676 participants. Even though I didn't improve on my time, I know I pushed myself as hard as I could and was happy with my place.

picture via Pinterest 

 If you have never signed up for a half marathon, I highly encourage it! It's a great feeling of accomplishment and gives you motivation to work out and push yourself.

Nice job to anyone else who raced in Springfield yesterday. Give yourself a pat on the back!

 As for me and marathons, I'll hold off on that for now ;)