Strava Marathon (Bellingham, MA)
Finish Time: 3:52
Pace: 8:52
Temp: 63
Conditions: Indoors
Run For: Bryant
Recap:
When adversity hits, when the struggle is real, when things get tough or feel uncomfortable.. lean into it.
So many people want to avoid physical discomfort at all costs. This is true when it comes to endurance events like distance running. With the marathon, we always talk about “the wall” and how to avoid it. For most of us during a marathon, 26.2 miles, it’s going to get tough at some point. There will come a time (or many times) along the way where we are going to want to stop. The simple response here is.. you can’t stop. However, the hard part is getting your mind and your body to agree.
Like many, if not all of you, I have struggled with this internal fight more times than I can count. Running long distance is about pushing past this point no matter where or when it shows up during a run. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you do feel great and don’t necessarily hit a really rough patch that makes you question everything. But being honest, most of us do hit it and it can happen a lot more than it doesn’t.
So, my strategy has changed over the years and now instead of trying to avoid this rough patch or hoping it doesn’t show up, I’ve flipped the script and now I anticipate it. I try to recognize the tell-tale signs of its approach so when it does appear, I welcome it, I actually lean into it. Here is how it normally looks. The early easy miles are just that, easy and manageable without any problems. It is when this tough spot, “the wall” comes that I now look forward to because honestly, this is where the good stuff begins. This is where I get to go to work pushing my body and more importantly my mind to do things that are going to be hard.
My Mindset at this point; This is where it gets hard? No, problem. I’ve been expecting it, it’s here so now we can get to work. I’m not going to try and avoid something that is most likely going to happen and I’m sure not going to fear it. I’ve got a plan and I’m going to attack. Will my plan work? I don’t know, but if it doesn’t, I’m going to have a new plan the next time and the time after that.
We’ve all heard the phrase “hope for the best and plan for the worst” well I’m going to “anticipate the worst so it can now become me at my best”
Resilience, perseverance, grit, determination.. There are a lot of words you can use to describe it and they all work. The point is I’m going to do the work when I need to do it the most at this time. I’m going to embrace the discomfort, the struggle and lean into it with all that I have. Will it be pretty, no, probably not at all. But digging deep, deeper than I think I can will keep me moving forward getting me to where I need, and want, to get to. THAT will be so pretty in the end, no matter how it looks in the process of how I got there. I will learn more about myself when it’s hard, when it’s a struggle than during any easy part of the run. What I’ll get, what I’ll learn from pushing through those tough times is invaluable information. It will make me better and I’m all in for that. Running is tough and being a marathon runner isn’t easy, but it is worth it and I’ve learned a lot about myself as a runner since this journey began.
What I thought was just a marathon challenge has turned into so much more than that.
One thing with 26.2 For You that I didn’t anticipate was the power of the stories I share with all of you. Every story is so powerful and I have been feeding off of each of them along this journey. I know it’s a term people will use to describe each person’s story, but I honestly do feel a push for lack of a better description. It’s empowering to read these stories and also know who they are coming from, the people who are sharing them. The one caveat to 26.2 For You was that I would only share the story of someone I knew. Not that the stories of people I don’t know aren’t important but selfishly I had a feeling I would need some extra motivation during this challenge so when reading the incredible story of someone, I want to know them personally. Know who they are and see where they are now in their life, how they are continuing to add to their incredible story. Adding to it with “I’m preserving and I’m fighting through all I’ve been through, still moving forward.” In a sense anticipating any adversity and doing the work to get through.
This is where Bryant and his story enter the picture. When I first started this marathon journey with 26.2 For You, I didn’t know Bryant yet. He was on his road to recovery taking back what Crohn’s Disease was trying to keep away. Like so many I’ve met along the way, Bryant decided to take action and fight through despite what life had thrown at him with this chronic illness. Knowing that Bryant had the guts (pun intended) to tackle some big life goals, like running his first full marathon is beyond inspiring to me.
I was lucky enough to witness Bryant run his first marathon with his fiancé, Megan, as they were a part of the Chicago Marathon team last fall with Team Challenge. Bryant hit a rough patch, like what I described earlier, with about four miles left to go. He told me that when he got close to mile 22 he was feeling really tired, the struggle became real then, really real. Although, as tough as it was getting physically, he dug down deep, mentally and used his mind to convince his body that it needed to keep going. He had already covered 22 miles and only had 4 left to go before the finish line. He could and he would get there!
I will never underestimate the drive or perseverance of an IBD patient, ever! Some of the toughest and strongest people I know and this was proof not only during Chicago for Bryant but from the beginning of his IBD story. He has a fight in him that so many IBD patients have and I try to emulate them during each marathon I run. So, thank you Bryant for showing me what it takes to push through when it gets tough, when something like IBD tries to push you down. Yes, sometimes Crohn’s gets in a good blow and knocks you down, but you refuse to stay down, fighting back even harder. Running this marathon got hard and it took some mental toughness to push through to the finish, but I was able to draw from Bryant’s example and it really does help. This 26.2 was for you Bryant!
26.2 FOR YOU 