I put myself in a very different position this weekend.
At the back of the pack.
In a half marathon.
Typically, I’m at the other end of the pack. The extreme other end. Competing. Hard.
But in this race, I chose to help someone complete their first ½ marathon. It was a big deal to them – and I didn’t want them to suffer alone. I wanted to help get them across the finish line, no matter what.
And they did!
It wasn’t easy. They were suffering early. By mile 4.
But man did they show grit. Besides walking through a few water stops, they never took a real walking break until mile 12.
Did they slow down? Yep.
Did they complain? Nope.
Did they finish what they set out to do? Yes sir.
I was very impressed. That’s a long way and a long time to suffer. But their mindset was in the right place – and if you get that right – you can endure a lot of suffering.
For me, it had its own challenges.
Mainly putting my ego aside and embracing that this wasn’t about me. Not always easy – especially for runners – whose time/results is often the ultimate measuring stick.
I thought a lot about ego later that day.
How powerful it is.
How negative it can be.
I thought about what real confidence as all about. How quiet it should be.
I thought about judging and being judged by others.
I thought about how I could be a better person.
And maybe that was the lesson. That you need to put yourself in different positions to provoke the right kind of reflection – which I always find healthy.
Good lesson from this weekend.
What did you learn this weekend – or what were you reminded of?
