Impulse Decisions - How Expectations Shape Our Future
Marathon number two is coming up tomorrow! When we flipped the calendars to January 2023 I never imagined that I would be running one, let alone TWO marathons this year! But, here we are!
If you’ve been following along for a while then you know all about the first marathon and my journey of getting there.
Immediately after running it I was very much not interested in running one ever again. I documented the whole thing on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.
But then, less than 24 hours later I was signing up for another one.
And now, the time has come to cash in on that sign up.
Reflecting upon this, I believe that I signed up for this second round of torture because of expectations. For the first marathon I had some expectations. The biggest one was flat ground. When we showed up to discover that they changed the course and never updated the website I was at a loss for words. What do you do when you train for 6 months and show up at the place? You run the thing. And so that’s what I did. But I left 5 minutes slower than my goal time and disappointed by the unexpectedly hilly course in general.
That’s what led me to googling “flat marathons east coast” and coming across one that is the exact same course that I thought I was running. The exact same one!!!
At that moment I knew I had to do it.
And I thought it wouldn’t be bad to tack on an extra 6 weeks of training.
That’s quite hilarious to reflect on because the past 6 weeks of training has been anything but easy. In fact, it was harder than the initial marathon training in general.
Way harder.
I slogged through my Sunday long runs with so much struggle. I felt like my “short runs” were at a crawling pace. My cardio was fine but I couldn’t get my legs to move for the life of me.
I knew that I was burnt out and in great need of a rest.
But, the marathon date was inching closer and I also knew that I had to maintain my level of fitness because flat or hilly, running 26.2 miles is no joke.
The last 3 weeks of training I switched things up. I wasn’t able to continue on with running 9 - 18 miles and everything in between. I could walk them faster. So, back to the bike I went. It felt so good to get back on the bike. I definitely needed a break from it but hearing the first click of my shoe into the pedal flooded me with excitement.
I recognized that biking and running are vastly different, but at the end of the day movement is movement and biking is what carried my legs across the first marathon finish line, so why would this time be any different?
I guess, tomorrow we will see just how different things are this time around.
I’m sure that next week I will have so much more to share about the upcoming experience but from this side of the race I recognize many lessons thus far.
I am reminded that expectations are a great force that carries us through life. Sometimes those expectations are good (like this second marathon) and serve us, other times they send us down a not so great path.
I recognize that things will often not go as planned. We will always be guided to exactly where we are meant to be and it is our responsibility to listen to that guidance.
And, I understand that most things that we make big deals aren’t big deals at all. I am refusing to make this marathon a big deal in my head. I am not working myself up about it. I did my best over the past 6 weeks and I will show up tomorrow and do my best there too. That’s all we can ask for and that’s really all we can do.
And if we show up in each moment with a vivacious appetite for that experience of life then I am confident that it will be everything we desire, and more.
Stay tuned next week to see how it goes! Think of me tomorrow as I run, run, run, run, and run some more!
THIS WEEKS OFFERINGS
hip opening yoga for tight hips - so excited to share this! It’s been almost a year since I’ve shared a yoga video. Back at it!
Creating Fierce Boundaries Sets You Free - Holy Health Podcast
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