Bakersville, NC. Home of the Rhododendron Festival, and the Rhododendron 10K run. My husband and I spent last Saturday driving on the curviest road in America (yes, rivaling the Road to Hana) to arrive in Bakersville to run this road race. Bakersville has a population of 351. I did not know this when I signed us up for the race. And as Kirk and I experienced the small (i.e., teeny tiny), mountain, southern town, we realized, "We're not in Asheville anymore." It really was a sweet little race, complete with the nicest people ever, a word from the mayor, and a pre-race prayer from the local pastor. I smiled the whole time at this experience of small town America. Southern America.
My goal was to finish the race without walking. Several weeks ago, I had set a time goal, but since then, I learned that when you are a beginning runner, time goals can be very demotivating. The advice is to have your goal to be to just FINISH the race. So, that is my goal for September's half marathon and will be my goal if I attempt a marathon. To simply finish. I am guessing there is nothing simple about that.
Advice I have read also states that not walking should also NOT be a goal. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me in a running race, but after this 10K, I think I get it.
You see, to not walk means you have to run the whole time. (See how brilliant I am?) When you force yourself to run the whole time as a new runner, you set yourself up for a potentially miserable experience. Too many miserable experiences will likely lead to stopping running. I wrote about this reality when a series of particularly miserable runs had me wondering what the hell I thought I was doing thinking I could run 13.1 miles, let alone that marathon I was considering.
For some reason, I felt I had to run this race without stopping. After all, I had run 9.3 miles without stopping one month ago. In hindsight, that day was rainy, cool, and with low humidity. Perfect for running. Saturday's race was sunny, hot, and humid. Not ideal for running. As I ran, I fought the incredible urge to stop, to walk, just for a minute. I desperately wanted relief, even if just for sixty seconds. I did not allow myself this. Instead, I forced myself to meet my goal, and I finished the race without walking. Yeah me, right?
Not so much. I was surprisingly disappointed. Not with my race performance - I still was glad I had finished. However, I was disappointed in the part of me that, during miles three and four, was trying to talk me into stopping all of this foolishness. The training, the running, the nutrition, the strength training, the blog, all of it.
It was a major red flag.
For the first time in a long time, this blog and the running goal attached to it has given me a sense of purpose. It has given me the opportunity to set and meet goals, and to experience the thrill of accomplishment. I have also heard from many of you how this blog has impacted you. I don't want to lose any of that. If I set unrealistic goals for myself, I risk losing that.
So, I have a new strategy. It's time to live into my goal, while at the same time adding more realism to it. It is ok to walk. I repeat. It is ok to walk. My new mantra: IT IS OK TO WALK! And if anybody wants to tell me I didn't really "run" the half marathon, marathon, 10K, or any random day training run, I will tell myself I don't care. No comparisons. I am running.
The very next run after this race was full of walking. I followed Jeff Galloway's Run-Walk-Run method which had me run three minutes, then walk one minute. I did this for 3 miles, 32 minutes total. I arrogantly thought it would be easy. Ha! Easier, for sure, but it was still challenging. Challenging. Not "oh my god I want to kill myself" hard. AND - get this: My total time for those three miles was NOT slower than when I don't walk. Ha! Take that!
I think I'll be able to hang in there with the lesson learned in Bakersville, NC, population 351.
~~~Thoughts~~~
What goals have you set for yourself?
Do you see any red flags that would burn you out?
Are you allowing yourself to walk as you run toward your goals?
Until next time, may you love your life today.
