Just Keep Trying!

October 7, 2022 By Megan Health and Wellness / Relatable Experiences

Alright, I want to talk about the Twins Cities Marathon again for a minute, so if you’re sick of hearing about it, just move along! 🙂

Last week I made a recap of the race, and if you read it or have talked to me since then, you know the race didn’t go as well as I hoped it would. As proud as I am of myself for pushing through and finishing the race when it would have been a lot easier to just quit, I can’t deny that I was still pretty upset about how it turned out. In fact, those first few days after the race, I was actually pretty pissed off.

I spent four months training for that race. Every weekend the entire summer was planned around when I was going to get my long run in. I was exhausted 24/7 and constantly worried about when I was going to get my miles in. Did I wake up at 4am to get it done before work when it was a little cooler? Or did I run it after work and feel like I was going to die of heat stroke? Neither was exactly ideal, but we had to make time for it. And if you’ve ever trained for a marathon before, you know it’s no joke! You find a plan and you try to stick to it the best you can. I was actually pretty proud of myself as I stuck to my plan pretty well. I’ll admit there were a few speed workouts I maaaaaybe might have skipped, but I otherwise stuck to that plan pretty darn well. A heck of a lot better than I did last year training for the Fargo Marathon, so when race day came, I was feeling pretty good that I would achieve the goals I had set for myself. I had put in the time and the work and knew I could run a good race.

But obviously, things happen on race day that you don’t expect, and that’s what happened last weekend. About ten years ago, I injured my hip from overuse. Had to go to physical therapy and get steroid injections and everything. For the most part, it’s healed, but every now and again it flares up and bothers me. And for whatever reason, it decided to really flare up during race day. Even though it didn’t bother me AT ALL during training. It didn’t make any sense, and unfortunately, I didn’t have a lot of control over it. And that’s what’s so frustrating about it. There wasn’t really anything I could have done differently that would have prevented it.

I think a lot of people I talked to this week could tell how frustrated I was with how it turned out, and I had a lot of people ask me if this race turned me off from running. Actually, it did the opposite. I think it lit a fire under my butt because I’ve already decided this wasn’t my last marathon. I know I can run a better race than that, and I know if I give myself the chance, I can reach those goals I set for myself. I’m obviously going to take at least a year off. After two full summers of marathon training, I want to enjoy the next summer a little bit. But mark my words, this marathon will not be my last. You can hold me to it!

The point I’m trying to make is that no matter what it is, whether it’s a race – or any kind of sporting event – a hobby you’re passionate about, work – whatever! There are always going to be good and bad days. But just because one race doesn’t go the way you want it to doesn’t mean it’s time to throw in the towel. It means it’s time to put in some more work and go try again. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do!