Feeling Full After A Half-Marathon

There is something incredibly human about running.  According to many articles, books and talks, we are made for running.  Our erect biped being makes running as natural for homo sapiens as flying is for birds.  We used to run as a tribe, chasing our prey over vast distances until it collapsed from exhaustion and the running man conquered the savage beast without a blow. Whole villages ran to follow the hunters to the fallen spoil.  Perhaps that is why I found running in a race to be such a deeply satisfying experience, and a deeply emotional one...it is in our DNA...

Back To Basics

Running is so simple.  Put one foot in front of the other.  Again, and again and again. You don't need any special equipment... just the shoes on your feet (unless you opt for barefoot running).  You don't need to belong to a gym or a club, or take lessons, or hire a trainer.  You just need to be human, and be willing to move...

Alone In The Crowd

I recently ran in my first race, a half-marathon, and it was an experience I will always remember, and look forward to repeating.  The camaraderie of strangers, coming together for a common, yet individual goal is the embodiment of inspiration.  The human race was represented in the race by every imaginable shape, size, ethnicity and age.  So many different people gathered for such a singular goal - to run 13.1 miles.  Each runner fully aware that everyone of us is a winner the moment we cross the finish line, whether the first or the last to do so...

The support of strangers as you pass them and as they pass you is remarkable, matched only by the support of the volunteers at the water stations and the passing cars honking their support and the passersby who just happened along as a race crossed their path.   Running is such a personal pursuit - you and your body and your thoughts - yet running in a race is such a communal feeling at the same time.  You are truly one with yourself and one with the crowd - an amazing, empowering, combination. I was overwhelmed by emotion on more than one occasion as I plodded forth to run, non-stop, farther than I ever had before.

If I Can, YOU Can!

Still I bit winded, in the video below I share my initial thoughts after running in the Miami Halloween Half-Marathon. Inspired by my son, I began my running journey in February, first by running a minute, then walking a minute for 3 to 4 miles... rinse, repeat. Over weeks and months I gradually increased the time running, until I was running the entire 3-4 miles non-stop. Then it was a matter of slowly and surely increasing my distance...

A year ago I never dreamed I could run 4 miles, let alone 13.1. Any goal is possible if you take it step by step, in smaller, attainable bites. If I can become a runner, so can you!!! If I can become a runner, I can probably do anything I set my mind to... and so can you!

The Quitting Zone

Every single time I start, I enter the quitting zone. The first steps are the hardest, pounding a signal from my heals to my head… "Stop. Go back.  You'll never make it.  You can do it tomorrow. Next time. Next week. Whenever."  The urge to stop, the desire to quit, the mental trickery demanding that I give up, stop running and start walking, just turn around and go home… these are the self-taunts I must endure for the the first half mile of nearly every run I undertake.  I call that half mile the quitting zone.  As I train myself, slowly and surely, to be able to run farther and faster, I am also training myself to be able to plow through the quitting zone.  In fact, that is the hardest part, learning to defeat the quitting zone.

See Jeff Run. Run Jeff, Run

I never thought I would think of myself as a runner.  I've always struggled with my weight, complained about my knees, found excuses to quit before I even dared to enter the quitting zone. Then, inspired by my oldest son, I started to walk three or four miles regularly… and then began alternating walking and running, increasing the ratio of running until one day I found I was running the whole distance. Then, little by little, the distance I could run increased.  While my confidence has grown along with the distances I run, I still find myself facing the quitting zone, nearly every day.  Intellectually, I know I can make it past that half mile mark. I do it all the time, and then continue going for three, four, five, even seven miles beyond. Still, those first steps… that first half mile… the infamous quitting zone is a bitch every time.

Life's A Bitch Too...

I won't be the first nor the last to use running as a metaphor for other things in life, but it works (and, after all, what's a metaphor?)  The truth is that the quitting zone is everywhere.  It taunts and challenges us at the beginning of every task, goal and opportunity we face.  It is physics.  It is inertia. It is in our human DNA.  The hardest step toward any objective is usually the first step.  Standing still takes less effort than movement.  Reflection and consideration takes less effort (and feels like it holds less risk) than taking action.  We think, therefore we am.  We think, therefore we pause. We wait.  We procrastinate.  (And of course, when I say "we" I really mean "ME."  I pause. I wait.  I procrastinate.)  But maybe I do so a little less now since I have become "a runner."  Maybe I've become a little bit better at pushing through the quitting zones... and not just the one when I run.

How about you?  How do you bust through your quitting zones?


Photo Credit: © yobidaba - Fotolia.com

The First Steps...

via youtube.com

While running this morning I realized that it is during the first few steps that invariably I want to quit. It is during the first minute or two of a run when I question my actions, when I doubt my ability, when I struggle between stopping and continuing. Then, after I push through those (mentally and physically) painful first moments, I hit my stride and know that I am okay and will meet my goal and go the distance.

What's A Meta For?

My experience with running is a metaphor for any goal we may have. The first few steps... diving in and actually STARTING... is often the hardest part. The greatest distance is between 0 and 1. Every run I have to coach and coax myself through those first steps, reminding myself that if I stay committed to the steps, I'll make it all the way to the end. This is true for any goal or objective, personal or professional. You have to take those first steps, and not let them foil you. Once you get past them, there is nothing stopping you from completing the journey.

Still huffing, puffing and schvitzing from my run, I shared some of these thoughts in a short video...

What do you think? Are the first steps the hardest?

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