Letting go

Have you ever been in a race where you started out feeling strong, passed someone then had them pass you later in the race, and all you could do is watch them slowly pull farther and farther ahead? Well that's kind of how I feel this month is going, but I'm actually ok with it. Let me explain...

I've been on Instagram for a couple of years. What was originally supposed to be a crafting account for me slowly morphed into a running account. It was so motivating to see others running races, reaching goals, and challenging themselves that once my account took the turn toward fitness I never looked back. As I got more and more involved with the running community the hashtag "challengeville" kept popping up so I checked it out. Challengeville is an amazingly supportive group of runners headed up by @oldguyrunning who hosts monthly milage challenges. Over the last 4 months I have conquered the Tinman (93.3 miles in a month) twice and the Bigfoot (150 miles in a month) twice. Heading into October I thought, "I'm feeling good AND I've got a half marathon and some virtuals coming up...I've got Bigfoot for sure!"

Well, here we are mid October and Bigfoot is slowly pulling away and I'm having trouble catching up :( Now I'm not giving up! I will still do my best to try and catch him. But while I'm in the midst of fighting off a second (SECOND) cold already this season it's helped to put some things in perspective.

First, goals are important, but not the MOST important thing. When it comes to life you need to prioritize, and while a running goal may seem like the most important thing, it really isn't. Family needs to come first. People aren't in your life forever, kids aren't little forever, people can't be replaced, and pushing to a goal and ignoring them just isn't right. The road will be waiting for you when you have the time.

Health is also paramount. If you don't take care of yourself you can't run at optimum levels. This is what I am personally dealing with now. I so want to run a virtual race today, but I know I'm teetering on the edge of getting sick and I have to work today. So is it worth it to me to push and run 6.2, then go work 9 hours to end up feeling so miserable that I can only muster 1 or 2 miles a day for the next week? In a word, no. I'd rather cut back a bit, run tomorrow on my day off then be able to rest like I need to to kick this bug before it takes me over.

Finally, as important as goals are, is the world going to end if you don't reach it? My type A personality wants to scream, "YES!!!!", but my logical brain says, "No!" I think a lot of my stress comes from feeling I ALWAYS have to reach a goal if I set it. But when I step back and really think about it, if you reach EVERY goal, EVERY challenge, are you really setting your sights too low? Also, as weird as some may think this sounds, at some point you need to learn how to deal with not reaching a goal. Realizing it's not failure. It's not that you didn't work hard enough. Realizing that life happens and sometimes things just don't work out. Maybe stepping back and reevaluating the goal you set and readjusting. And knowing deep down that you did your best, and you will come away wiser and stronger from the experience.

I will continue to chase Bigfoot this month. I will do my best to catch him, but even if I don't I won't let myself get down about it for too long. I'll  just let him think he's finally shaken me and sneak up and get him another month ;) With that I'm out the door for an easy run then some rest before work. Hope you all have a great weekend!

JaDee