My Second Marathon: Less Than Ideal Physical Conditions, But A Great Lesson In Perseverance
My Pittsburgh marathon experience recently was a success, and I am proud to say I finished! I think any race finish is a success! Unfortunately, my time was not what I had hoped (I had hoped for an improvement in time from my first marathon). My health was challenged by an untimely bout of viral gastroenteritis (stomach virus) the day before. Obviously less than ideal conditions. I am pretty sure I caught this from my cute (but full-of-germs) children, or one of my patients, or a bit of both. The afternoon before, I recall feeling a little punky, and then slowly but steadily, became exhausted, nauseated, and became a close friend to the restroom for unnatural products from both ends. I rested for good solid few hours that afternoon, and then slept for 12+ hours the night before.
Facing Doubt and Learning to Push Negative Thoughts Aside
I awoke at about 40-50%, less nauseated but also unfortunately a bit behind on my fluids. I ate nothing and had minimal fluid intake the night before, obviously not what I planned to do. I tried to gently hydrate and ate a minimal breakfast that morning. And I anticipated a great challenge ahead. I had several nagging thoughts of, “well, maybe I can stay home and sit this out.” But 3+ months of work were weighing on my mind. So many 1-3 hour runs early in the AM 6 days a week spent pounding the pavement. So much time spent away from other hobbies and pursuits, and away from my family. I used this thought of time investment as inspiration, and pushed the negative thoughts aside. Instead, I strived to think to myself “I worked hard. I feel okay today, not great, but okay. I will use this as an opportunity to see how far I can push myself, safely, but I will push myself.”
It was certainly a challenge on my body and mind, but I am glad I did indeed push myself. I did great the first hour or two, until my early morning Tylenol unfortunately wore off, and some dehydration and discomfort really settled in. The last two and a half hours was a bit rough, but I took it 1 mile at a time. And I am very proud to say I made it to the finish line.
I think this was a great lesson to myself on perseverance and seeing how far I can truly go. And to not limit myself based on perceived notions of what I am capable of. Stop listening to boundaries and restrictions, both that I set for myself, or what everyone else tells me.
I am so appreciative of my ability to push through the pain and discomfort, and finish. My finish time wasn’t stellar (4:40:22), or what I expected (I had hoped to set a personal record by about 10-15 minutes), but given all the challenges with the preceding virus/illness, I am proud of what I did. And proud of my grit and determination to push forward and not stop, in spite of pain and challenge.
I think going forward in my life as a mom and doctor, I feel huge waves of confidence in what I can do. I am not perfect, and I don’t have all the answers for my kids or my patients. And I will never be so overconfident to say I am perfect and all knowing. But I realize some dogged determination and perseverance can carry me through a lot in life. By not giving up, I was able push through, improve, and reach a new level of performance and success.
An Unfortunate Injury: Forced Break and Forced Rethinking of My Health Priorities
I also unfortunately suffered a foot injury about a month after my marathon. This was probably a reflection of overtraining, not taking enough time of rest after my race, and not admitting when I need to take a break. It took a good 4 weeks to recover. I can tell you, I missed exercise, and missed running. I missed having my body whole and healthy and pain free. Just walking, climbing steps, and jumping would elicit a bit of pain. I missed my solo runs, as this was my time of reflection, my “me” time away from others. As an introvert, I realize some solo time is crucial for recovery and rejuvenation. Though I’d hate to admit it, the time away from running was also good for me. I gained more time with my family. I was able to fully heal my body. And crucially, I gained more time to sleep. I am realizing I need to guard my sleep time and stop depriving myself so much.
I read a great book, Why We Sleep, by Matthew Walker a couple of months ago, and I highly recommend this comprehensive review of what sleep is, why it is vital, and how to use it to our advantage. This book, coupled with my injury and forced break from early morning runs, made me rethink my routine and how I was treating my body and my health. Sleep is crucial. It is not for idleness. It is not for lazy people. It helps your mind and body recover. It helps solidify learning and healing. It improves your immunity. It improves your vitality and creativity. The book goes into great detail, but those are some wonderful takeaways I gained from my study of the book. The book also discusses dreams, insomnia, and why typical insomnia treatment with sleeping pills is not always ideal. I found it a very interesting read, very detailed and very scientific.
Return to Running, But Learning Balance
I have returned to running this past week. I craved the activity and ability to get my heart rate up. My foot hurt slightly but fortunately has gotten stronger and less bothersome as activity is ramping up. I am learning to adapt my schedule and change things around. I have tried running later in the day at times, so I can protect my sleep time. I am unfortunately quite a bit of shape, but I know I can regain my ability. And given my persistence and success with my “less than ideal” second marathon, I know I can push myself further than I think. I am learning to look at boundaries and limits, everywhere in life, and analyzing them to see if I can knock them down creatively but aggressively.
Growth Mindset, Thinking of How Many Blessings I Truly Have
I am eager to continue to grow, reinvent myself, and make myself better. (If you haven’t read anything about a Growth Mindset versus Fixed Mindset, I encourage you to do so. This is great way to look at the psychology of growth. One great resource is here.) I hope I can continue to set an example for my family and my kids.
During my run, I used Aaptiv (a great way to have a trainer in your ear during your workout, breaks up the monotony!), and the trainer described a great way to overcome a desire to stop. And that is: think of someone who can’t exercise. Run for them. Exercise for them. Persist because of them. Keep running and don’t stop, for they cannot do what you are doing. I felt like my run was more like a prayer and meditation in their honor. I found this truly inspiring and a great way to keep going. And I plan to carry this forward to everything in life, I think that is a great lesson that translates everywhere.
There is so much to be grateful for in life that I often take for granted. I am healthy. I have a beautiful, loving family. I have a roof over my head. A stable career. Free time to pursue my passions and hobbies. I am able to continue to grow and improve. I have way more to appreciate and think positively about, and a lot less I should complain about and dwell negatively upon.
Perseverance and Gratitude: Tools for Success and Ways to Battle Pessimism
Positivity and gratitude, I believe, will carry me forward in the future. I know more challenges and set backs will come up, in my running, in my career, and in my family. But I will think about my successes in the past, particularly my success in pushing through a painful, uncomfortable, imperfect marathon situation.
I will keep those lessons with me, and they will fuel me with inspiration and hope. And I will think of all of those I encounter, particularly in my life as a physician, who are so gracious and open to share their own challenges, with their personal lives and with their health. I think this will help reframe my pessimism. Instead of dwelling on all I do not have, I will work on focusing on my blessings and all the wonderful things I do possess.