Running is a solo sport.
Sure, you have relays, run clubs, and track teams, but every honest runner will admit that only one person is responsible for their performance.
No one can run your leg of the race, no one can substitute their times for you, and no one can invest hours upon hours into your training. Those responsibilities fall solely on you.
That truth can be discouraging, I know, but those words aren’t meant to cause anxiety or isolation. They’re meant to promote ownership of a personal role.
Endurance requires your own commitment first and foremost, because without it, you will always look for an escape.
You’ll wish the race wasn’t as long as it seems, that the weather wasn’t as miserable as it is, or that your legs weren’t as heavy as they are. Soon, your “rest days” will make up the majority of your week, and even if you do have a team, you’ll be its least reliable member.
Please tell me that’s not what you want.
Whatever race you find yourself in, do yourself a favor, and accept it. Especially if the adversity is a challenge you didn’t choose, find a way to own it.
“I wish” has to become “I will”. Not just because others can be a crutch, but because they can also be a discouragement.
There’s nothing more humbling as a runner than gasping for air when pushing your pace only to notice a stroller glide by as its chirpy owner chats on the phone. It doesn’t matter how fast you get or how much stamina you build, there will always be another runner who can break your records…while wearing jeans.
Everything in this sport is relative. The same is true about endurance. What’s challenging to you now may not seem that way to others, and you have to be at peace with that. Dealing with acne, getting over a breakup, or treating a sports injury isn’t equivalent to losing a job, fighting cancer, or mourning a family member, but the former group still includes legitimate challenges.
You don’t build endurance to play a game of “who’s survived the most trauma?”. You do it to endure the race in front of you. Some people race 5K’s. Others race marathons. Neither is less of a race than the other. They just require different training.
We all have diverse strengths, weaknesses, resources, and experiences, so don’t confuse “different” with “inferior”. Understand the race you’re in, accept your responsibility to run it, and train only for that race of your own.
If you grow the courage to do that, you’ll be on track to endure anything. So stop worrying about absent teammates or speedsters who don’t even know you exist. Get both of your feet on the pavement first, then you’ll have everyone you need.
-Drew
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Marathon Mentality 3: You Don’t Need to Be Special
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