I’ve never been a long-distance runner. And, I’m not sure I’d even consider myself one now.. maybe after I get a few more races under my belt!
But, last Saturday, I competed in my second ever Half-Marathon Trail Race!
I learn a LOT about myself in the prep for these races, and especially in the races themselves.
Though I’ve always been an athlete, this presents a new challenge for me. And, I am finding myself more & more attracted to this unknown..
Challenging Myself
If I’m not a distance runner, I’m DEFINITELY not a reader.
I LOVE the knowledge I gain from educational material, but struggle efficiently processing words on a page at a reasonable pace.
My mind tends to wander, I stop and take loads of notes in my phone (for life application), or I get bored and move to something else.
But, one thing I set out to challenge myself with is to increase my educational intake. I’m constantly trying to learn new things, and I know reading is so powerful. But, I’m “not a reader.”
However, I love podcasts and listening to this type of material. I tend to process it much more efficiently, being able to completely zone out of my surroundings and engulf myself into the message.
This is usually beneficial, except when my wife is trying to tell me about her day, or the help she needs with our 19 month old son. Then, my ability to zone out gets me in a lot of trouble..
Leading up to this most recent Half-Marathon Trail Race, I completed one audiobook and got a good ways through another one.
The Comfort Crisis, by Michael Easter, challenged me to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, to be present in the moment more, and to ultimately, embrace the suck.
Embrace the Suck, by Navy Seal Brent Gleeson, is expanding upon the title, teaching me mostly that our minds are capable of incredibly more than we think.
When our body sends those messages to the brain signaling fatigue and/or pain, that’s only the beginning of the grind. We can ultimately push much, much further.
So, that’s what I told myself!
Setting Goals
My first Half-Marathon Trail Race took place in Pine Mountain, GA.
These “mountains” aren’t the peak of the East Coast Appalachians, and they surely aren’t the peak of the Rocky Mountain Range. BUT, they’re not flat either.
It was quite a challenge in some spots, especially considering this race would be the first time I’d ever run that many miles at one time.
But, I got third place with a time of 2:02:13! (a pace of 9:17/mile)
I did not expect that at all. So, that was pretty cool..
For this last race, I knew it would be somewhat hilly, but nothing like the Pine Mountain race. I was told by my racing pals I could “go fast” here! So, that’s what I trained for.
During my 9-10 mile training runs, I’d aim for around an 8:00/mile pace. And, I was able to hit it a few times..
My initial goal for this last race was to beat my last time, and go sub-2 hours.
However, the morning of, some things hit me..
Adrenaline (DUH)
The memory of my training runs (I was CAPABLE)
The lessons learned from the books I had been reading (listening to)
The gratitude of God’s blessings on my life (HE had made me ABLE)
.. so, naturally, I changed my goal!
This race was much larger, a bigger production with a lot more participants. Could I still “hang” with the crowd?
I wasn’t sure.
But, after looking at times from the previous year, and realizing my training, I set my goal for a time of 1:45:00!
This would mean I’d need to maintain that 8:00/mile pace for ALL 13.1 MILES.
The Race
Did I mention the temperature was 21 degrees the entire race?
No? Well, it was. But, that doesn’t matter because “Pain Don’t Hurt.”
“Pain Don’t Hurt” is a quote from the late Patrick Swayze in the movie Roadhouse, and quoted in the book Embrace the Suck.
Again, as mentioned, the learnings from these books definitely fueled much of my performance..
..back to the story!
It was 7:59am and the race was starting in less than 60 seconds.
I had a more robust nutrition plan this go-around (I’ll share at a later time) which included a banana pre-race.
I didn’t realize I hadn’t eaten the banana until now. TROUBLE. Forced to gobble it down in 20 seconds, I was now “ready.”
With 40 seconds now remaining, one of my buddies running the race with me says “Look, if you want to get ahead, you’ve got to get out front here at the start. It turns to a single-track really quickly.”
For those who don’t trail-run, a “single-track” is just that, a very narrow single-lane trail in the woods that forces you to run in a single-file line with little to no room to pass.
“Ok, got it!” I said as the time to go was now less than 30 seconds..
.. “10 seconds… 5… 3-2-1-GO!”
The blaring starting horn pierced the cold air, and as coached, I shot out to second place behind the leader.
We stayed in a group of 5 through the first 1-1.5 miles of the trail.
After that, we hit a large road section, in which 2 people passed myself and the leader (they ended up being the first and second place runners).
Now, it was a tight group of three!
Around mile 4 or 5, we came to a crossroads.
Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for me, the leader of our trio missed the turn.
I was now leading the group and in third place overall.
For the next 4-5 miles, myself and the fourth place runner were neck and neck (or in this case, heel to toe).
I was admittedly getting pretty tired, and he didn’t seem to be, staying right with me.
We approached another crossroads, except this one had an attendant.
She yells at me, “You running the half?? OK, this way! You’re in third!!”
She then yells at the guy behind me, “You running the half, too?? OK, you’re in fourth, you have to beat HIM!” *pointing at me*
We both let out a chuckle.
It was funny, but it wasn’t. I wanted to win. I was GOING to win. And by win, I mean, “this specific foot race, maintaining the podium and not missing third place by one stinkin’ spot.”
See, I’d rather come in 33rd than 4th. I couldn’t stand the thought of that.
So, here’s what I kept telling myself, literally out load and in my head -
“You’re not tired. You don’t get tired. Keep going.”
“Just keep grinding until the next feed.” (I was eating a date every 15 minutes for fuel)
“Desire the hard stuff! If it’s hard for you, it’s hard for him too. Who’s better prepared??”
“Pain don’t hurt.” (This one is meaningful because I ended the race with two MASSIVE blisters on the bottom of each foot)
“How bad would it suck to get fourth place? Bad right? Then keep running.”
“You’re up front, the pressure is on him. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other like you’ve been doing the whole race.”
“You are able.”
And FINALLY, what this whole blog is about..
“Don’t look back. Run YOUR race.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us “..And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
I knew if Jesus suffered for me on the cross, I could suffer through my race!
After adopting that mindset, running MY race, I started pulling away from my competitor and finished the last 1.5 - 2 miles without the sound of immediate footsteps behind me.
It felt good.
The Results
I finished in third place with a time of 1:44:06, :54 seconds under my goal and at a pace of 7:57/mile.
I was ecstatic.
All of the hard work had come to fruition.
It was a GRIND. It HURT. But, it was all worth it.
Once I quit worrying about my blisters, my fatigue, how many miles I had left, and how close my competition was, and turned my focus to ME and my literal NEXT STEP, over and over again, I was able to succeed.
The Takeaway
Have you ever heard the analogy, “Your windshield is a lot bigger than your rearview for a reason.” ?
That’s kind of what I’m getting at here..
Think of your rearview mirror as your past failures, current distractions, the competition, what others are doing, what social media tells you is important, etc.
Think of your windshield as EVERYTHING in front of you, ALL the opportunity waiting to be obtained, and SUCCESS waiting to be achieved.
When we fix our eyes solely on the rearview, we wreck. We definitely fail.
See, during my race, it was important for me to understand in a general sense where my competitor was, because that also fueled my internal drive, but if I would’ve fixed my gaze on him alone, I would’ve tripped on a root, rock, tree, or mound of dirt and he DEFINITELY would have passed me.
Whatever journey you’re on right now, whether it’s weight loss or repairing relationships, I urge you to focus on the windshield.
Keep your eyes ahead on what YOU can control.
I couldn’t control how fast my competitor ran, but I had full control of my next step.
You do too.
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If you’d like help from myself, or our incredible staff at E3 Nutrition, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
We’d love to guide you on your journey to achieving Complete, Nutritional Freedom.
nutrition.e3@gmail.com
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Have a GREAT weekend!
Best,
Eli Grambling
Founder, Head Coach | E3 Nutrition