As a distance runner, there may come a moment when you just aren’t impressed with yourself anymore. You forget that you’re an ultramarathoner. That marathon you ran last month, which was excruciating at the time, seems like it was easy now that you think about it. A ten, twelve, fourteen mile training run sounds like nothing. “Only” training for a half marathon? What a relief!
Remember when you first started running? I do. It was only sixteen months ago. I could barely survive running for sixty seconds at a time. One mile seemed an impossible pipe dream. How would I ever work up to 26.2 and check “marathon” off my bucket list? And then somehow I did it in a year and suddenly I’m sitting here all unimpressed.
How exactly does this happen? How do we discount the distance that seemed completely ludicrous just the other day? Maybe it’s a self-esteem issue. “If I can do it, anyone can.” While this statement is usually thrown around to encourage others, it’s actually pretty self-deprecating when you think about it. Why not you? Why can’t you be special? Looking at all you’ve done, why don’t you consider yourself to be amazing?
The answer is simple: you are amazing. Not everyone can do what you do. Not just the distance, but the discipline. I think the discipline is even harder than the distance. The planning, the social sacrifice, the loss of sleep – all of these things happen when training for distance running. After a period of time, it becomes habit. It’s an everyday, commonplace thing. It becomes your life. And somehow, it becomes less special.
I have to remind myself that there’s no such thing as “just” a four mile run. There aren’t any junk miles. My 5k PR isn’t slow. Waking up at 4am on summer weekends to get my run in before the sun becomes oppressive is serious dedication. Running five marathons in nine months is badass, and it doesn’t just happen. It’s something to be earned.
So you see, even though I have to remind myself of it, I’m kind of a big deal. And so are you.
Some of the top part of this is similar to what I thought when I did my speech at Toastmasters. http://scrapandrun.blogspot.com/2012/05/running-changes-you.html but the second part didn’t hit me yet.
I’m not sure it’s hit me either, to be honest. It’s one of those things that I keep reminding myself in the hopes that one day I will believe it. Awesome speech!
The actual speech giving wasn’t awesome. but I did like the content. Sometimes I try to change my thinking. If I can’t do something/ don’t do it, I think the person who did is amazing and impressive but once I can do it, then I think anyone can and it’s not that impressive and I hate that I always feel that way. I think it is good that you are trying to realize you are amazing.
I love this post. I do this all the time. Whenever the Tough Mudder comes up I tend to downplay and talk about how it’s a big team thing and not that big a deal and blah-de-blah, and those things are true (It IS a team thing and I do think that most people of average fitness abilities could drag themselves through the course if they really wanted to), but mostly it’s this idea that if I did it then it can’t possibly have been that hard.
I think the thing I agree with the most is that it’s the nitty gritty daily discipline that IS a big deal. That is the thing that sets you/me/anyone rocking their workout/eating/life plans hard is doing that is so special.
I love this post. It is so true. I just came back from a break where I didn’t run for month. Before this break, a 5k was just an easy run. Now, I am happy I run a bit over 5 km today, for the first time in two month. I know that soon, as I get better and better, I will forget that these short runs once made me proud. Now, as I think of it, I realise that we should be proud of ourselves EVERYTIME we go out for a run.
Way to go! Running is not easy, but when you’re in the habit of it, you forget how hard it actually is.