This last weekend I celebrated my 28th birthday by running a marathon for the first time in my life. I had noticed last year that my weight was continually rising, while my strength and endurance were slowly fading away. It was time to set a goal and accomplish something. I needed a big goal to help reel me back in to the exercise arena. I've tried to set small goals before, but I never accomplish them because they seem too easy for me to walk away from. I'm a little bit quirky, in the sense that most people, including presenters on goal setting, talk about setting small goals that are challenging but able to be accomplished. This just has not worked for me. Possibly because I'm pretty easily discouraged, especially if it should be easily done, so I set a goal about something extreme and if I don't hit it, I don't get as discouraged. It's not necessarily the right way to do it, but it's the only thing that's worked so far.
Anyways, my wife and I ran a 10K in October with some close friends of ours and after the race I declared that my next race would be a marathon. I was signing up for one and was going to do it no matter what. I was sick of being in the place I was and this would help me change that. I thought: "This is going to be an incredible physical accomplishment, and in 6 months I will be ready enough to get it done. I may not be fast, but I'll be able to run one without any problems." Boy was I wrong! However, I learned some valuable lessons and the experience I had will stay with me for the rest of my life.
3 things I learned from my experience...
1. The unexpected will happen, be prepared
On the marathon website pre-race it stated that water stations would be every 2 miles, which was not the case. You see, I had trained myself to take in 3 ounces of water about every 15 minutes (which I really don't know if that's enough or not) and thought that I would be ok with rehydrating every 2 miles, even though that would be a bit past my 15 minute timetable. However, when the stations ended up being about 3-4 miles apart I knew I was in big trouble. It also happened to be one of the hotter days of the spring, and I had done most of my training throughout the winter months. As you can expect, I became extremely dehydrated to the point of no longer sweating and having to stop off to use the restroom 3 times throughout the race. I did ok for awhile, but at mile 18 my body said stop, and I had 8.2 miles to go...I didn't think I was going to make it, I didn't know if I would finish, and I probably wouldn't have it is wasn't for...
Point number 2.
2. God walks with us through it all (even when we think we know what we're doing)
Before the race, I talked with my dad about the race to get some help (he's ran 9 marathons). His biggest advice was to start out slow, because the adrenaline is going to make you want to fly. I tried to start slow, but my first split was 8:39, which is much faster then the 9:30 time I wanted to start at. I felt good though, and thought I would just try to stick at a 9 minute pace. At about the 8 mile point I started thinking I would be way under my goal of 4 hours, even thinking 3:45 was a possibility. This ended up being absurd and incredibly foolish. As I came to the halfway mark, my body began to slow down and I ended up finishing the first half in 2:00:14, which was good, but I was feeling spent. This is when my dad showed up. He began to bike with me and could sense something was wrong, but he never said anything. He just rode with me and encouraged me. He knew I had gone too fast and could see the signs that I wasn't doing well, but he never mentioned it. He just rode alongside me, sometimes going ahead or dropping back for a few minutes because he knew I needed space. At mile 18 when I finally had to give in to my body and walk, I was so disappointed in myself and angry with the race organizers, that I was started complaining about it for the next few miles. All my dad did was listen, agree, and encourage me to run when I could and walk if I needed to. He even had some comic relief when he saw how frustrated I was about some of the people passing me. At one point (maybe from the first time he saw me) he knew I needed more fluids or I wouldn't make it to the end, so he called my mom and brother and they brought me gatorades and water (thanks Nate and Mom!). He coached me all the way to mile 24, where he did something I'll never forget...he left. He rode on to the finish so I could finish with my wife. He had been the one who got me through everything and when it came time for the recognition he let me have it. My dad was the biggest example of what Christ is like in our lives that I have witnessed in my 28 years. I needed Him saturday and he was there every step of the way, without needing any recognition. To him, this was all about his son and he just wanted to encourage me to endure till the end. All he wanted was to see me finish. To see me accomplish my goal. Thank you dad, I love you.
3. Without friends, the journey is too difficult
During a marathon, you crave those cheering sections. Each one gives you a little boost. A little bit more energy that you didn't have before you passed them. I was done at mile 15, but I knew my friends and my wife Natalie, were waiting for me at mile 16. That knowledge got me all the way to 18. My dad (above) got me to mile 23, and my great friend, Dustin (nursing a 4 beer buzz :) ) found me and ran a good 2 miles with me, until I caught my wife for the finish, who ran the last 2 miles with me after she had finished a half marathon earlier in the day! Without each of these people helping out on this day I would not have been able to persevere. I needed them all. Many times during struggles, I wanted to be left alone. I hate having to admit defeat or failure, I don't want anyone to see me suffer/struggle. I want to be great without having to go through the hardship to get there, and I want to do it alone. I think we all have a little bit of this in us and all it is is pride hiding itself as strength. Thinking we can do it alone is one of the biggest reasons we fail. We need others, and I needed others on saturday.
So thank you friends, and thank you family. Without all of you, this wouldn't have been possible. Again, Thank you.
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