I'm thankful I pushed myself each of the three times I've run a half marathon. I'm not really a runner, at least not in the same sense as those people who have built running in as a regular part of their adult life. One one hand, I'm an ex-athlete who used to work out rigorously 6 times per week in high school and college. On the other hand, I didn't do more than walk for workouts during each of my three pregnancy and post-partum years. But there are three times in my adult life where I've managed to squeeze in 6 months of intensive running, enough to complete a half marathon each time. I'm grateful that I pushed myself to do this because it feels really good, physically and mentally, to be in peak physical shape; because it gives you a good baseline of fitness even as you ramp down from the race training schedule; and because it feels like an accomplishment to run 13 miles in a row. But most of all, I'm grateful to have done it because you realize that, while physical conditioning helps, a lot of the battle in completing endurance races is mental - and this is so much like life. I think practicing and building mental fortitude under these artificial circumstances helps you with mental fortitude needed for other things in life that are way more important, and I'm grateful for the chance to build up mental strength.
(Fun fact: I'm hoping to do another half here in Reno in May. The small handful of you who are reading these thankful posts can keep me accountable!)
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