Thursday, October 10, 2013

Marathon Motivation



How do you find out if someone has run a marathon?  Those that have finished one have already told you.

I signed up for the Twin Cities Marathon as a way to support my wife as she tackled running a marathon for the first time.  Last Sunday I went into the race having just recovered from a couple of running injuries.  The injuries prevented me from training as much as I would have liked.  I was nervous for the run, as my longest run leading up to race day was six miles.  But I made it to the starting line!  Because of this, my goal was to finish the marathon before they closed the course in the 6-hour time limit. 

Something interesting happened during the race.  Enthusiasm.  All throughout the race people cheered all the runners on.  Thousands of people, who have no idea who you are, cheered for you, because you were doing something that less than 1% of the population have ever done before.  Running is sport where your mind tends to control how well you run.  If you are not in the right mind-set, you will not run well, even in you have fresh legs.  But if your legs are tired, your mind can help push through pain and finish the race. 

The crowds acted like a huge boost of energy.  They cheered for you, they clapped their hands, they held signs that read, “I don’t know who you are, but I’m proud of you!” You’ve trained longer than Kim Kardashian was married!”  “You know the first person that ran this died, right?”  All of the encouragement and motivation pushed me to do the best I could.  Which reminds me of the Zig Ziglar quote, “Motivation, like showering, doesn’t last, so we should do it daily.”   I was showered all throughout the race with the crowd’s encouragement that I went on to finish the race in 4 hours 22 minutes - a full hour and 38 minutes faster than my goal!  Before the race I didn’t think 4 hours 22 was possible, and wouldn’t have been possible without the support.  

So my challenge to you is: Whom can you encourage today?  How can you motivate yourself and others?