Edmonton Marathon…. I’m running the Edmonton Marathon this year…. They say it’s important to choose races that excite you and I can’t say that signing up for the Edmonton Marathon was exciting for me. I chose this marathon because it fit my schedule - home all summer then travelling all fall. Though the race it’s self didn’t excite me running a marathon in Canada did, being with friends all weekend was also a fun idea, and was thinking another summer training in Texas would make any Edmonton conditions feel like a winter day.
I look back on this build and knew my heart wasn’t in it even though I was consistently showing up in training & doing my best to put the work in. Whenever asked how training was going I frequently responded it didn’t feel like I was training for a marathon, even the day before the marathon I didn’t feel that marathon excitement. Knowing this I did my best to trick my mind into the distance - I re-read let your mind run by Deena Kastor (such a motivational read), I did a deep dive into my why and for the first time wrote down a big time goal on my mirror that my coach reassured me I was in shape to run.
Well sure enough it wasn’t my day… from mile 1 I knew. My response was that’s okay - stay conservative, focus on fuel/hydration and you will still run a great race, it’s also a long race so things might change, just smile & start enjoying the things around you. I did just that coming in 3 minutes slower than my goal at the half way point - no worries I thought save it for the last 3 miles. Then it got worse, I started to feel a familiar feeling of cramping coming on at mile 17, I slowed down more hoping that would be enough & even refilled my handheld with water & Skratch. Mile 18 stopped me in my tracks to the point I questioned dropping out knowing I wouldn’t recover any sort of race pace. (Thank you for that lesson Houston).
At that point all I had was my mind - I could quit or take a big look at my WHY. My WHY wasn’t just about running a PB, what I wrote down over the summer included a long list;
Being Vulnerable
Not afraid to fail
Building resilience
Inspiring others
Trusting a process that is not instant
Doing hard things
Literally just exercising my body
That list was enough to get me to the finish with a smile on my face and somewhat proud to have finished.Another Marathon and another lesson in mindfulness & reflection.
Why is it our “failures” that we tend to make our biggest growths from? Bring on Boston 🔥
Peace & Love!
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