Coming home from my first semester in college last December, I felt as though I had learned a lot but accomplished so little. Sure, I had long term goals in terms of what I wanted to study or potential careers that I wanted to explore. But I was craving a more immediate fix to this feeling of unfulfillment. I needed a simpler goal to strive for and achieve in order to remind myself that I am capable of anything I put my mind to.
These feelings, coupled with the looming notion of the dreaded "Freshman 15", led me to decide to the commitment of running a half marathon this spring. I had always jogged for exercise, but at this point in my life, simply running 3 miles was a daunting task. The idea of having to make it through13.1 miles was certainly intimidating, but I was interested in seeing just how much I could challenge myself.
The race was scheduled for the end of May, giving me time to train and work towards my goal, while also building excitement and anticipation. This race also gave me a concrete ambition to strive for during a time in school when my future seemed anything but clear. But what I did not yet realize was that from this experience I would develop a passion for running and an addiction to accomplishing my goals.
Completely ignorant of how to even begin training for a half-marathon, I did what any millennial would do and took to my trusty friend Google. After scrolling through an endless variety of results for the search "beginner half marathon training," I picked one that looked somewhat manageable and only required one long run a week (because why would I put myself through more than that?)
As I began my 12 week self-prescribed training schedule, I noticed that I stuck to it religiously, which became a major source of satisfaction for me. Whether that day was a 4 mile run or 60 minutes of cross training, completing the exercise required was equivalent to accomplishing mini daily goals. Each day that I made a longer run, completed a difficult strength training circuit, or tried a different type of cross training, I felt a boost of confidence. Having daily challenges gave me back the feeling of fulfillment-- I was doing something that was difficult for my body while at the same time improving my attitude.
As I got further into my three months of training and the runs grew longer, doubts began to creep their way into my head... I lived off the joy of successfully running six miles for a couple of days, but when I thought about the fact that race day would require seven more, I was thrown off.
But what I soon realized is that it wasn't my body that I needed to be concerned about. It was my mind that could cause my downfall, if I let it. Running may be partly physical, but if you do not have the mental toughness to push yourself one more mile or convince yourself that no, actually, you don't need to walk right this second, it is impossible to finish any sort of challenging race.
On top of building my mental strength, running taught me how to appreciate being alone. For me, running is a solitary sport. It is my time with myself to reflect on my day, plan for the day ahead, or just let my thoughts wander. Trust me, when you've been alone with your thoughts for over an hour, your mind starts to wander to some pretty strange places. But these strange and random thoughts can lead to really cool ideas, paper topics for school, or solutions to difficult problems.
This past Sunday, I ran and completed my first half marathon, and that feeling of unfulfillment and incompetence I had five months ago has completely disappeared from my life. Setting this goal for myself not only sparked a love for running, but also showed me the importance of reminding myself that I am capable of not only achieving, but excelling.
So now I'm wondering... when will be the full marathon?
