NW Call to Action
Think Bigger & Do Something Extreme
My family has a history of heart disease.
My grandpa had bypass surgery in his 70’s, my dad was in his 50’s.
For years I have been active (I’m an early riser, 4:40am), exercising several times a week.
In 2022 I upped the ante and made it a goal to run a half marathon (13.1 miles) before the end of the year. I hadn’t been a serious runner since my first half marathon in 2010. I ran 210 miles in 2022 and completed the half marathon in 1 hour, 53 minutes, and 42 seconds, almost 4 minutes faster than the 2010 race.
I swore at mile 11 that I would never run a half marathon again.
2023 saw me training for a duathlon, which consists of 12.2 miles biking and a 3.1 mile run. The event was cancelled 5 days before the race. I completed it anyways in my neighborhood, by myself, at the scheduled time.
It is hard for me to make a goal smaller that what I have achieved in the past, so I tried to think bigger for 2024.
Full marathon. 26.2 miles.
I knew the training was going to take a lot of commitment, what I didn’t expect was all the extra benefits I would gain along the way.
Benefits I expected:
Better overall health
Disciple
Focus
Benefits I actually saw:
Mental fortitude. When you must do something tomorrow that you dread, you tend to dwell on it. You also will probably be negative while doing the task. Knowing I had 26.2 miles to prepare for, I could not afford to skip any runs and had to do all the training. Doing physical exercise for 4 straight hours when you don’t want to exercise for 5 minutes takes some grit.
Resilient body. Previously 8 miles was sufficient to put me in a world of pain, from blisters all over to muscles and tendons that would always hurt. After a few 16 mile runs, those things quite happening. My body has adjusted accordingly and would have no issue running a half marathon tomorrow.
Comfortable with silence. The ability to not let your mind wander to negative thoughts and be driven insane with boredom takes work. Any time I thought about problems at work or other jobs around the house that needed done, my running suffered. Positive mindset and focus on the running were important to get through.
Nutrition. Alcohol and pop have been nearly eliminated from my diet for the past 4 months. Overall awareness of my food consumption with every meal keeps me upright. Supplements before and immediately after any run over 5 miles gets me ready for the next long run.
Mindset shift. I know that I can achieve more because I have done more. Doing what seems impossible for me takes away the barriers of other goals and financial dreams.
The reason why I gained all these benefits? I had a virtual coach in my ear the whole time. I did every run while using the Nike Run Club app, which gave me advice on every run on how to be a better runner.
The point of sharing all of this?
13.1 miles use to scare me and is something I even swore off. By forcing my self to go past that point (twice as far to be exact), I have moved the bar in what I am able to achieve.
Is fear or lack of experience holding you back from growing (or changing) your farm? Instead of trying to add 1 farm in the next 3 years, ask yourself how you can buy 3 farms in the next 5 years. Find the resources and help to get it done. You need to have a coach or advisor who has seen it done or done it themselves to show you the ropes.
P.S. Race Results: Goal #1 was to finish the race. If I had a timed goal, it was to finish in under 4 hours and 30 minutes.
I began the race with the 4:30:00 pacer and was miserable the first 3 miles. There was a mental block that I wouldn’t be able to keep the pace for the whole race and backed off (thanks to my virtual training coach, I knew this was necessary).
After a pit stop at mile 6 the 4:40:00 pacer was next to me, and we ran together for the next 9 miles. It was very important to have a marathoner next to me at the half-way point. 90% of the runners break off at mile 13 to complete their half marathon while I had 13 miles to go. That physical support from another runner continuing the journey was huge to mentally continue.
Mile 15 needed another pit stop and I lost my 4:40:00 pacer. I told him I would catch up in a few miles and tried to find him until mile 19, where runners make a U-turn for the home stretch, and he was no-where to be found (I discovered after the race I passed him while he was taking a pit stop!). At this point I knew I was less than ½ mile behind the 4:30:00 pacer from the start of the race and ran like mad to catch up.
I passed the 4:30:00 pacer with 2 miles to go and finished my first full marathon in 4:27:51 with wife, kids, and parents cheering me on. It was a great day!
Have a great week!
Grant
All views expressed on this site are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity whatsoever with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. Information provided is authentic to the best of my knowledge, and as such, is prone to errors and the absence of key details. The content of this blog is for entertainment and informative purposes and should not be seen as professional advice to finances or any other field.