When I started running in April 2021 and signed up for my first half-marathon, a “friend” of mine gave this unsolicited comment:
“Everyone can run a half-marathon. It’s a success only if you can make it in under 2 hours.”
Dude! What the hell? Why would you say something like this to someone, who just started from zero? And I mean ZERO – my first run was 800m and I was out of breath. After six months of committed training I finished at 2:19:19.
Fast forward a couple of months, I finished my 2nd run at only 2:47:07. Yes, almost 30 minutes slower! What a failure, right? However, it was 27° in the shadows, full sun, no preparation whatsoever and in one of the most difficult moments in my life. I showed up with no expectations and wanted to test how far I can get. A day before the event I mentioned online that I probably won’t make it at all. This is what another friend of mine told me:
“It’s like 2,5 hours on the dance floor, it’s nothing for you girl! I have no doubts that you can make it!”
I instantly thought that he might be right, even though I never danced in the heat like this. It changed my perspective and helped me adapt the tactic.
I dedicated my first half-marathon to my Mum and the second one to a beloved friend of mine, Yann Gontard. For him it was always all about the mindset. Courage, resilience, perseverance, patience. About testing your own limits and limitations, exploring, experimenting and growing. But also about accepting the fact that not all goals and targets can be reached, not all dreams fulfilled and that some stories end in the middle of the best act. And that’s ok. Everyone who had a chance to meet him knows that and I second this approach.
So here’s the thing: let’s not compare ourselves to others, try to be a better version of ourselves every day and always lift each other up!
