I was going to run home from church, then decided that I would run PAST home.. to make it my longest run ever.

This running thing hasn’t been easy, but I was fast enough for my expectations.  I was also running the ideal mileage, so I decided that this run from church to home was going to be my last long run and then I would put my running in my back pocket and work on something else- some other challenge. 

 

Who knew the challenge I had in store?

 So Sunday came, and I went running.  I was running my longest run ever, and knowing exactly how long I was going to run, because I map-quested the route beforehand (and I was so excited to know that I was beating my records)!  When I came to the end, I Iooked down at my tracker, which confirmed I had just completed 13.45 miles. 

 

NO WAY! I had really only run 8 miles- I knew that. But why was it so off? 

 I discovered the mileage tracker’s personal information was set to someone 6 feet tall, much heavier than I am, and so it was not recording accurately.  Nor had it been recording accurately for the past three and a half months of my running!

 

I ran some numbers and figured out that I was only running 61% of what I thought, which meant I was slower and running shorter distances than I thought.

 

 At first, it was crushing to learn I was running a lie- I mean really!   And what was funny to me is that I did really run 8 miles, yet, what I thought were six mile runs previously, were barely 3.6 miles.  Goodness! 

 

Running is really psychological! It proved to me that I really can run eight miles, even though my time was nothing short of embarrassing. 

 

This was a bit of a setback (38% of a setback to be precise).  And although HUGELY disappointing, I’m not giving up, nor will I stop until I DO finish my total mileage goal (with accuracy)! 

 

Realizing the truth in any circumstance may or may not pleasant, yet honest, REAL truth NEVER, EVER CHANGES.  The best thing I can do is to understand it, then make changes accordingly.

Even if it requires more hard work, pain and determination?  Yes, in this circumstance, after working through the disappointment, it made me even more resolute not to quit. Boy howdy, if I thought running was hard, it’s just gonna get a little worse.

 

I’m so appreciative of the encouragement that you have given me so far, and I hope this inspires you not to give up when things become uncomfortable, difficult or when you find out you’re only doing a small percentage of what you thought. Nothing worth working towards will be easy, but the work will be so worth it.

 

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