Quitting is Not an Option{Short Inspirational Story}

It was 6am on Sunday, August 15th and it was time to get up and get ready for my 23 mile run.  As I got out of bed I was relieved to see that the weather was cooperating.  It was probably around 70 degrees, slightly cloudy and a gentle breeze was blowing.  As I made myself a simple breakfast and drank extra water, I could feel the knot in my stomach.  I was nervous.  23 miles was no joke and I didn’t know how I’d hold up.  I started telling myself over and over that I could do it.  It was only 3 miles longer than my longest run of 20 miles and 3 miles was nothing to me at this point.  Still I felt nervous.


After breakfast, I got dressed in my “long run” special jogging clothes so that chafing would be minimal.  I applied Vaseline in some key places, laced up my sneakers, and put on my special runner’s belt.  I double checked that my GU packets were in place on the belt and walked outside with my Cinderella water bottle in hand.   (I have found that my daughter’s favorite water bottle fits in my hand best while running. I often wonder how many people notice the bright pink bottle with a molded Cinderella on top while I run.)


As I stepped out onto the street and started my run I could feel that my legs were tight.  I knew they would loosen up within the first 2 miles and I told myself to go slowly.  I’d be running for 5 hours or so and starting fast would kill me.  After a few miles I did loosen up and the run started to feel good.  Nothing much was hurting today.  The weather was great and I was finally not completely drenched with sweat in the first 10 minutes.


The first 16 miles actually passed easily.  I was tired and the run felt interminable, but amazingly I felt good.  I was actually wondering why I’d thought 17 miles was difficult only a month or so before.  I had a quick chuckle at that thought and mentally patted myself on the back for actually thinking that 17 miles was easy.

After a quick water refill and pep talk from my husband,  Joe, I headed out the door for my last 7 miles.  My legs were definitely tired, but I was excited to finish.


Somewhere between mile 18 and mile 20 I started to feel the burn in my legs even stronger.  Each step was becoming more difficult and I was now concentrating hard to continue.  At mile 20, I wanted to sit down and cry.  There would be one very big problem with that though.  I knew I could get down to the ground without any effort, but how the heck would I ever get back up?


Luckily mile 20 finished pretty much at my father-in-law’s house and I saw that Joe and our girls were there for a visit with Grandpa.  I filled my water bottle again and Joe gave me another pep talk.  He told me I could do it, that 3 miles was nothing to me.  I asked him to come drive my route in 30 minutes to help give me one final push home.



Then I made a final decision.  I decided that I would finish 3 more miles.  I summoned up all my emotional strength and stepped out on the street again.  I took one step at a time and I was slow, but soon I was less than 1 mile from home.  I was now looking for Joe in the car.  I wanted to see him so badly.  With about ½ mile left I heard his voice as he pulled up next to me.  He actually startled me, but I smiled.  (I have no idea how those facial muscles still worked.)  He said, “You’re almost there!  Keep going!”  I managed to tell him to go around the block and drive by again and he did.  On the second drive by I told him, “I’ll see you at home!”  Then I put one foot in front of another and I made it home.  As I crossed the imaginary finish line I envisioned what it would be like to cross the real finish line on marathon day.  I raised my arms slightly and cheered for myself. I’d finished the full 23 miles!



I still have 3 more miles to add to my longest run.  I will add those 3 miles for the first time over Labor Day weekend.  Then on November 7th, 2010 I will again run the full 26.2 miles to complete the New York City Marathon.  In between that time I am planning another 20 mile run so that I will be ready physically.



I’ve learned through this experience that your emotional and mental strength matter just as much as your physical strength.  It would be so easy on some of my runs to quit.  I haven’t quit yet and I won’t!