Friday, March 1, 2013

Life lessons - training for and running my first half-marathon

As many of you know, 6 months ago, I signed-up to run my first-ever half-marathon - a full 13.1 miles/21 kms - not ever having been a runner, it certainly appeared to be a daunting task but I chose to sign-up to raise money for cancer research and care at the St. Jude Children's research hospital in Memphis, TN - a world-leading facility that accepts patients from around the world - without any financial obligation. The result of one man's vision and passion to eradicate childhood cancer! Having seen several members of my friends and family circle deal with this devastating disease over the last couple of years, I felt a strong urge to do something and thought that raising money for St. Jude and, in parallel, achieving better physical fitness was a worthy goal!

In the 6 months since I signed-up, I've had many twists and turns, ups and downs - not just around training but also the usual events that life brings to us - and through the many hundreds of miles of running-in-training (241 to be exact, but who's counting?!), I've had a chance to reflect on many things - be it my good fortune at being able to do this or the overwhelming support I've received from friends and family or the incredible beauty that's all around us or the importance and value of setting goals or to have a sense of gratitude for every day, every moment, every breath - that being said, here are my top 6 personal take-aways from this endeavor. They are in no particular order...

1. Set big, hairy, audacious goals for yourself that scare the @#%^ out of you: As Lewis Carroll very eloquently said, "if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there..." - once I was signed-up and committed to the goal, I knew what it was that I had to achieve, I mapped out a plan to get there and identified milestones along the way - first 5K, first 10K, first 10 miler etc. etc. - having the goal and the roadmap, helped me stay on track and even though the goal appeared enormous at first, chipping away at it over time gave me a lot of confidence and self-belief - "if your mind can conceive it and your heart can believe it, then you can achieve it" became my mantra! Having an audacious goal - be it about relationships, career, physical fitness, whatever - also helps you become more than the person you thought you could be - and truly there's no better feeling than that!

2. Be consistent and Show-up: For those that know me well, I am no early bird! Instead, night owl is what describes me best - the St. Jude heroes training group that I ran with once a month began their running @ 7am - meaning I had to be up and out-of-the-house no later than 6:30am (that's usually when I go to bed!!!) - but I told myself that this was important and I needed to do it, once I showed-up for the training runs, the energy from my peers carried me through runs that I never thought I could do. If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. I run because I can. When I get tired, I remember those who can't run, what they would give to have this simple gift I take for granted, and I run harder for them. I know they would do the same for me.

3. Have a support system, be your own cheerleader: Enlist supporters anytime you are going to set a goal for yourself especially when the goal is an audacious one.  Having committed to running the half-marathon, I enlisted my family, my friends, work colleagues and socialized the heck out of the fact that I was running/training - having a strong support system, kept me accountable and provided the necessary kick on the backside, when needed!

4. It never hurts to ask - "If you don't ask, the answer is already no" - that certainly holds true - when I first started, my goal was to raise $1,000 for St. Jude - within a few days, I'd raised the money and questioned whether I'd set my initial goal too low, I then bumped it up to $2,500 and kept pinging people across my networks asking them to support this cause - it's something I deeply and passionately believed in - thanks to the overwhelming generosity of friends, family and even strangers, we raised nearly $12,000 for St. Jude.  I feel so blessed, overwhelmed and grateful to have been able to do this - it was a heckuva ride!

5. Be grateful - life is short - "No is a mild cut. Regret is cancer." - I read this quote somewhere along the way when I was training.  It hit home.  So many times we put off things we love and are passionate about, we put off making that phone call to someone we love, we put off chasing our dreams, we put off going that extra mile, we put off not being everything we can be - the list goes on and on and on... life truly is short and fragile.  Just ask the kids who have been diagnosed with cancer and their families ... why should we ever put anything meaningful off.  Count each day as a blessing, each moment of good health and good fortune as a gift.  Practice gratitude daily, hourly, by-the-minute - whatever it takes!  Make it happen!

6. The right equipment helps but attitude is really everything - Early in my training, I invested in some good running shoes and other running gear - that really helped me train and push myself.  However, more important than the tools you might have, is the attitude that makes the difference - again, if you believe you can do it, you can!!!  Don't make excuses about not having the right tools or resources at your disposal - if you're truly passionate, you will find a way.

UPDATE: On 12/1, I ran a full 13.1 miles - to cross that finish line was an awesome awesome feeling.  I felt proud, grateful, blessed and overwhelmed - all at the same time.  The race-day weather was absolutely gorgeous, I beat my target finish time by 44 seconds and even though I cramped a little bit around mile 11, some stretching made the cramps disappear.  So many people believed in me even when my own belief wavered - I can never thank my supporters enough.  The race experience was incredible - running through the hospital was overwhelming and having complete strangers cheer me on, pat me on the back, run with me was an incredibly amazing experience.  Together we did this for the kids of St. Jude and you have my eternal gratitude for that.  What's next?  Who knows?  This running bug has really got me so I plan on running another couple of half-marathons in 2013 and I am not ruling out running my first full marathon for St. Jude in December 2013!!!  And as a final note, here's a quote from a book I re-read recently ...
"... Today is your chance to awaken to the gift of living - before it is too late. Time really does slip through your fingers like tiny grains of sand. Let this new day be the defining moment of your life, the day that you make the decision once and for all to focus on what is truly important to you. Make the decision to spend more time with those who make your life more meaningful. Revere th...e special moments, revel in their power. Do the things that you have always wanted to do. Climb that mountain you have always wanted to climb or learn to play the trumpet. Dance in the rain or build a new business. Learn to love music, learn a new language and rekindle the delight of your childhood. Stop putting off your happiness for the sake of achievement. Instead, why not enjoy the process? Revive your spirit and start tending to your soul. This is the way to Nirvana..." - from "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari"