Stay the Course

I went for a long run yesterday. The longest distance I have ever attempted.

The first part of the course I had marked off for this eleven mile run took me two-and-a-half miles south of my house, a half mile east, then north for four miles before I needed to turn left to run west on the Lake Road, the part of the course that would take me into the longest run I have ever completed. A portion of this four-mile segment took me through the east side of the town where I live.

At about the five mile mark the anxiety I had all week anticipating this long run overtook me. I began to break down mentally and emotionally as doubts about whether or not I could do eleven miles seemed to overtake me. I found myself engaged in this self-talk:
- Eleven miles. I’ll never be able to do eleven miles. Am I crazy for doing this? What am I even doing this for? I don’t have anything to prove to anyone. This is a goal from my twenties. I’m not twenty anymore. The time it takes, the effort it takes. Why do I continue to put myself through this?
- I could turn left at the Shell station once I get into town and head home that way for what would end up being a 7.3 mile run.
- No, I can run seven miles easily. I’ve done that many times before. Keep going past the Shell station and turn at 3rd Street, run to Maple then head home. That would be eight miles.
- No…I can do eight miles. Eight miles isn’t going to move me forward in my training.
I shook myself out of this self-doubting revelry with this:
- You can do this. You need to keep going. The marathon is 26.2 miles and you won’t be able to finish it if you don’t keep to the training schedule.
- Remember, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” I’ve definitely taken more than one step since I started training. I remember when I couldn’t run one mile and now I’m on an eleven mile run.
- But it’s safe to run the eight mile course today…
- NO! Stay the course, Tina, and you can do eleven miles. Just stay the course and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

“Stay the course” captured my attention. I immediately realized that if I was going to run eleven miles I had to stay on the eleven mile circuit I had marked off. If I turned left at the Shell station I would not stay on the course. If I turned left at 3rd Street I would not stay on the course. If I was going to accomplish my goal I needed to stay on the eleven mile course and continue to put one foot in front of the other and turn left only when I got to the Lake Road.

What course are you on? Is it the course of a worthwhile goal like…
- Losing weight and lowering your cholesterol?
- Improving your relationship with a spouse, child, family member, or friend?
- Going back to school to finish that degree or earn one?
- Buying a house?
- Paying off your debt?
- Surviving a grief or recovery process?
- Overcoming addiction?

Are you at a mile marker where doubt, fatigue, or fear are beginning to overwhelm you and you want to turn left before you’re supposed to? If so, resist it! Whatever it is…resist it. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and stay the course.

I believe you can do it!