Truth: I Almost Quit
“It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi
Before writing posts when I’m down in the dumps about something, I often put on my rose colored glasses. The positivity and cheer-leading you see and read here is genuine, but some times it’s a pep talk meant more for my own psyche rather than for anyone else.
That was 100% the case after I ran the Richmond Marathon.
An hour after the race, I had the classic “quitter’s syndrome”. The “I’m never going to do this” and the “maybe it’s just not meant to be’s” were flowing.
Pretty sure I told everyone I saw that day that I was done with this goal and I’m moving on. I had the classic signs of a scorned lover who was throwing in the towel of ever falling in love again and along with it all my hopes and dreams.
In that moment of defeat, I gave up and I almost quit…
but, you know the end of this story regardless of the outcome in Eugene. I am not a quitter and I will not give up. I have an amazing training cycle behind me and shitty race, so instead of giving in I’m expecting more.
Have ever had a moment when you nearly gave up on your goals?
“Champions keep playing until they get it right.”
In 2011 when I ran the Chicago Marathon, I nearly quit. I knew I wasn’t going to make my goal time of 3:30 and I was feeling really awful and was extremely dehydrated. Luckily, a friend was running with me and he became my “caretaker,” grabbing me water, gatorade, GU’s and basically telling me that no matter how slow, hot, tired, etc. I was, I was not going to quit. I ended up crossing the finish line with my worst time ever (and in the med tent afterwards), but I was happy that I didn’t give up.
I have been close to quitting training for many races. I’ll go through spans when I dread every run, and hate every step. If I power through, though, I almost always have a change of heart within a week or two. I get motivation from remembering the thrill of those times when I DID finish and felt so proud of myself.
I think we all have those”never again” moments after a race that does not go as planned or meet our expectations. It is normal. But in the end, the runners competitive spirit reappears and we move forward. All runners are competitive, mostly with themselves.
The Kidless Kronicles
In early August I completed my first sprint triathlon. Place in my age group and felt strong all around b/c of good training (thanks Master’s team!). I was super excited to do more races. But then two weeks after my tri I move across the state and got super depressed. I quit swimming altogether. Yesterday I got in the pool again. 50 minute ‘distance set’. It was freezing cold and I had the pool to myself. I was super slow and it sucked. I am considering doing a tri in March, but starting training is so hard after an extended break. I think the point is not to stop training…
I almost quit around mile 10 of my first half marathon. Once I was done, I said NEVER AGAIN… but now I’m signing up for more in hopes for a better race!
I go thru the same thing. I ran my worst half marathon in 2010 and thought I’m done running!! But I had already signed up for a 10 miler 2 weeks later. Thank goodness I did because I had a fanastic race and thought I could never give this up!! We all go thru this!! It’s just a matter of picking ourselves up and getting back at it!! Shake it off and keep moving!!
Training for anything can have its ups and downs and sometimes you get so frustrated you can’t stand it.
I appreciate your honesty – it’s not easy to keep up with the pace – no pun intended.
Great quote – and proud of you for continuing to conquer!
I know you and you are not a quitter. I also know that there were so many unexpected variables that entered into the weeks leading up to Richmond but regardless, I understand your disappointment. And I love that you have channeled those feelings into determination. Can’t wait to hear about Eugene!