Often, in running, the biggest hurdle to overcome is not in your body’s ability, but in your mind’s ability.

Right now, I’m training for a half marathon.  It will be my second half marathon, so I’ve already passed through the barrier of seeing if I can do it.  I know I can physically make the distance, but somehow the idea that I can do it again is an even bigger hurdle.  It’s a bigger block on my mind than the first time I ran a half marathon.

As a result, I’ve found my training harder than I remember it being the first time around. It’s harder to make each step of my training schedule a reality and the heat and humidity of this summer certainly hasn’t helped.

All that aside, I’ve still managed to complete my one race a month goal that I set in January.  Each race has steadily made sure I stay in the game, and September I was scheduled for a 5-mile run while we were visiting my in-laws.

My husband even agreed to run with me, which is always a great boost, especially when he stays by my side and helps me push through the hard times and mental blocks.  And, boy, were there some mental blocks for this race.   Up until we started I was regretting the distance decision.  There was a tight cut-off of 14/min a mile and I was afraid on the new course, with hills, that I would get the course shut down on me.   I didn’t want to fail according to someone else, I kept trying to stop before I  could fail.  I was worried I wasn’t in good enough shape.  I thought I didn’t have it in me to do the full race this month since I’d been sloppy in my training to date.

Even through the first mile, I said out loud, “I so regret doing this race…”

By the end of the five miles that statement was obliterated.  We started the fist mile like I always do, let’s just run the first one and see where we’re at.  Get my road-legs, if you will.  So, we ran the first mile and there was a water stop right there, so I walked through the water stop, and we started back up running.  I set the plan, “Let’s try and make it to mile 2, if we get there, I’ll walk for one minute then pick it up again.”

Mile two completed, one minute walked, and we set off running again.  By this point, I was feeling pretty good and was happy my husband was right by my side, pushing me along, to make sure I ran to the best of my ability, instead of letting fear trick me into walking.

We make it to mile 3, walked one minute, and then started running again.  By this point, the course had been almost all gradual uphill.  I was looking forward to the downhill back down and was re-energized by how well I had done so far.  One minute walking for each mile, and on pace at just over 12 min/mile.   Mile 3 brought dancing, singing and a marvelous hill through a tree-shaded neighborhood when I realized, about half way down the hill… that we’d likely have to go uphill again after this.  It was too steep to be leading back to our gradual downhill last mile, there had to be more.

So, I asked my husband who was familiar with the course from his high school running days it was all downhill from here, “Pretty much, basically” was his answer and with that answer I knew there was a big one coming up.

And there it was.  Right at the end of mile 3, before the mile 4 marker, a steep, STEEP hill straight uphill.  I hadn’t walked more than 3 minutes to this point, exactly 1 minute at each mile marker.  I wanted to make this happen and didn’t want my mind to win out.  So, one step at time, head down, huffing and puffing, we pounded out that hill step by step.  I didn’t look up, I didn’t look to far forward, I just focused on getting through one step at a time.

And we did it.

At mile marker 4, we walked the final minute and then took off for the finish.  A wonderful gradual downhill until the last 1/4 mile uphill to the finish.

I was huffing and puffing at the finish, but I was stronger than I was before I started.

Often, in my training runs I walk because I think I won’t be able to do the distance without stopping.  I don’t push to the brink because… well I don’t know why, I just don’t push as much as I should.

This race behind me, I know now that part of this training series will be about the mental part of it.  Physically, I know I can do it, so now I just need to work on mentally making it through the rest of my fall training to get to where I need to be.

After the race, we had homemade strawberry pie for breakfast.  And that could be one of the best things about running… the freedom to have fresh strawberry pie as a celebratory breakfast.

September Race
5 Miles
12:16 pace
1:01:20 total time