When I was 29 years old, I completed my first marathon.
Then I turned 30 and completed my second marathon.
I committed to running a marathon in every decade of my life, and now 18 years later, at 48 years old, here I am.
I might have waited a bit too long, but if I can pull this off, I should be ready to knock off when I am 50 and then get that buffer room late into my 60s 
Going through this process in the past, I know that running a marathon is not as hard as training for a marathon. If you do the training properly, you should be ready to go, but that is easier said than done.
Over the past few months, I have centered everything on prepping for this race, and no matter what is going on that day, week, or month, I get my training in and try to properly eat to fuel for the training. It’s tough, but you learn a lot through the process, and you learn more about yourself.
As I write this, I am uncomfortably sitting on a plane as I tweaked a hamstring “injury” this past week and am feeling pretty sore. I put “injury” in quotations as it hurts, but I am not really injured; there’s a difference. The training tests your mind as much as your body, and if I was injured, my training would be over.
Understanding how to be in tune with my body, I have a long run every Sunday that can range between 13 and 20 miles (seriously) in preparation for the 26.2-mile race day.
Yesterday, I started that Sunday run, and I realized that if I did it, my “hurt” could turn into an injury real quick. I turned around after about a mile of running, got on an indoor bike, stretched myself out, and decided to take a rest day. Missing that day weighed on my mind, but pushing myself to a point where I wouldn’t be able to run the race in the future and negate the training I have already done, would bother me so much more. So instead of skipping my long run, I decided that I would postpone it for a later date.
Today, one day later, was that date. Hence the soreness on the plane.
I decided that I had a distance I had to do, and instead of focusing on a time and pace, I finished on just doing the run. As I have gone through myself, I have realized how competitive I am, and I feel the need to top my speeds and times from week to week.
In the past, I would have skipped the run in its entirety because I know how disappointed I would have been in seeing myself getting “slower” through the process.
Then I read this quote from my friend, Meghan Lawson, in her book, “Legacy of Learning”:
“…if you have 50 percent to give, and you give 50 percent, then you gave 100 percent. Forward is forward, and it’s vital that you take good care of how you think about yourself and the progress you’re making. No matter how small. You’re trying, and you’re making progress.”
Meghan Lawson, “Legacy of Learning”
So I put my ego aside and ran my miles slower than I have in a while.
At first, it bothered me, and then I thought of Meghan’s words and realized that just getting it done today was my 50 out of 50 moment. I gave 100% when I felt I didn’t have 100% to give.
Here is something I have learned over the years; I will show up and give my everything for others, even when I have so little to give. But I am often quick to give up on myself, especially when no one is watching.
The standard you set for yourself should always be higher than the expectations you set for others.
If you can do something to make yourself better, even when it sucks, maybe especially when it sucks, it is an investment that you make today that will pay dividends later.
