Todd Schnick

Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod

I ran my 8th half-marathon on Sunday in San Antonio, TX. (A half-marathon is 13.1 miles; a full is 26.2 miles.)

Previously I’d run the half in Atlanta on Thanksgiving Day 5 times, the Rock-n-Roll half in Virginia Beach once, and I ran the Country Music half-marathon in Nashville this past April.

Until now I’ve always said that the half in Atlanta is my favorite. Now, I just may have a new favorite.

San Antonio and the Rock-n-Roll series organizers did an OUTSTANDING job with this event. It was impeccably planned and organized; the course was perfect (read: flat), and we really lucked out with the weather. An unseasonable cold front came through San Antonio the day before the race bringing the temperature down to a perfect 47 degrees at the start line Sunday morning.

I ran this one as well as the one in Nashville with Todd. Todd inspired me to start running again nearly a year ago after a 3 year hiatus. We originally set a goal of running the half in Atlanta this coming Thanksgiving, but as soon as we  started running I knew I didn’t want to wait that long and we decided to train for the Country Music half in Nashville this past April.

So, within his first year of running and my first year back we’ll have completed three half-marathons. Not too bad, I’m thinking…

When I lost my first iPod and ordered another, I had the word fortitude engraved on the back.

Why?

Because whenever I’m running high mileage training runs or races, that’s the word that always comes to mind and keeps me going when the going gets tough.

It’s what I think of as I’m pushing my body to and past its limits; talking myself through continuing to move forward, putting one foot in front of the other, no matter how much it hurts.

Distance running is 90% mental.

The other 10% consists of physical abilities, and proper nutrition, training, and rest.

You can follow the perfect training plan, eat all the right things, and get plenty of rest…but if you don’t have the fortitude to push yourself through the times when your body is screaming NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE YOU MOTHER F*CKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! at you, you won’t make it.

This applies to a lot of trials and tribulations throughout our lives, be it personal relationships or career-related challenges…and I do believe that running has made me stronger.

Over the past 11 years it’s helped me to keep my eye on the finish line – the bigger picture, the greater goal – and to see the nits and gnats that get in my way as nothing more than what they really are.

Nits and gnats.

They’re just the little curve balls that life inevitably throws our way once in a while.

They’re to be expected, absolutely; and they’re not ever anything we can’t handle.

Notice some of the adjectives for the word fortitude: bravery, courage, and my personal favorite: gumption.

We all have it…it’s inside of us.

It’s what allows us to push through the bumps along the way, and if we choose; to arrive at our goal with enough left in us for a strong finish.

That’s what running has taught me.

Do you run, or participate in another endurance sport? Or perhaps there’s something else in your life that requires another type of endurance and fortitude.

What pushes you through and keeps you going?

Tagged as: Atlanta, Cartoon by Hugh, distance running, Do you want this job or not, It's personal, San Antonio, Stephanie A. Lloyd, Todd Schnick

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