A year ago, January 2009, I set one of the most challenging resolutions of my life. I resolved to run the Ogden marathon with my dear friend, Maren. Committing to this goal was a major decision that engulfed my life for sixteen weeks between January and May. Amazing experiences occurred during the intense training, helping me grow in all areas of health; physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Our race took place the weekend before my 30th birthday. The course ran us through the gorgeous mountains in Ogden canyon, past Pine View Reservoir's shimmering waters, and into the downtown streets of the city of Ogden. 26.2 miles of running gave Maren and I ample time to talk about pretty much everything. Our topics ranged greatly between comments on the scenery, memories of our past, goals for our futures, and even links between actors and actresses while playing the "movie game" for at least an hour. One of the best discussions we had that day took place when we asked each other, "what metaphors of life can we make to running a marathon?" As we talked, we linked almost everything about training and running to the experiences of life.
Here are a few of the metaphors we came up with:
1. A technique we used to conquer hills was not to look at the top of the hill, but to watch our feet instead. When we did this, we were able to feel success by seeing ourselves literally put one foot in front of the other, making slow strides that eventually got us to the top. When we watched the top of the hill and constantly compared our position with how much farther we had to go to reach it, it was depressing and difficult. We compared this training experience to life by noting that when we are faced with seemingly never ending tasks (like Sonny finishing graduate school or mountains of laundry to fold) it is best to take it one step at a time, instead of constantly worrying about how much more you have to do to finish.
2. The Ogden marathon is mostly down hill, except for mile 15. As we neared this mile, we heard some veteran Ogden marathon runners talking about the challenge that lay ahead. They noted their past experience and told us how difficult this mile was. They warned us of its horror and shared stories of how painful it was for them in years past. Maren and I got to the hill, (a much smaller one than what we had anticipated) used our training techniques, and got to the top with hardly any pain. It seemed nothing like the other runners had described. It was almost easy.
This experience reminded us of the many influences in our lives that tell us "no". They say things like, "Why would you start that business? They never succeed." or "You're going to hate that class, the teacher is really annoying." Negative comments that get into your brain and create fear and doubt in yourself.
3. At mile 21 we came out of the canyon and found our family there, cheering us on. Our small boys held home-made signs, they took pictures, yelled our names, and filled our hearts with determination to finish. In life, we all need a support system. Nothing can beat family and friends that cheer us on through the ups and downs, and help get us through it all.
The final most important metaphor I want to share deals with having a positive mental attitude.
In reading books and training manuals to prepare for our race; the authors pointed out the importance of positive mental attitudes. They suggested holding our heads high, and smiling while running. They taught us to write our own mantras to repeat to ourselves while we ran. They told us to conquer the elements around us by saying to ourselves things like, "Oh, hello hill. I've been waiting for you, come run with me." According to these marathon running masters, the crucial factor to marathon success was a positive attitude.
I embraced this guidance and did my best to smile throughout the entire 4 hour and 53minute run. I talked positively to myself and feel that this was a key component to accomplishing the biggest New Year resolution of my life so far.
This becomes an easy comparison to life. Positive self talk, personal affirmations, smiling when times get tough, and welcoming challenges into our lives are all extremely important ways to live successfully.
As the new year begins, Sonny and I are setting more resolutions. None as grand as last year's marathon, but many that focus on the metaphors I learned from it. In fact, just this morning, despite recent news of GM discontinuing Saturn and Pontiac, and the automotive industry still on the rocks, Sonny optimistically said, "January is going to be an awesome month! We are going to sell a ton of cars."
To which I smiled, and said, "Of course we are."
How I can relate to every word of this post, Carolyn! That was one of the greatest experiences of my entire life and I feel I learned all of those lessons from it too. There is another blog I read pretty regularly called Get Rich Slowly and the author was training for his first marathon this past year and he was comparing the training of a marathon to financial goals and success. It really can teach you so much about all areas of life. Thanks for sharing!
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