Welcome to Running to Myself. I’m Trisha Stanton. Life and mindset coach, running coach and host of Running to Myself.
16 years ago I ran my first marathon. The process of training for that first race changed my life. This podcast is my opportunity to share some of the lessons I have learned about running and life through the many ups and downs of life during my almost 2 decades of running and learning more about who I am. It is my hope that through my stories maybe you will see a bit of yourself as well and find a nugget of truth and inspiration to take with you. Let’s get started.
Episode 2 the long run
In episode 1 I shared about how I woke up one day as a person who did not run and by the end of my lunch break had signed up to run a marathon with my husband just five months later.
Now the work would begin. I mapped out our training program to figure out when we needed to begin (immediately as it turns out!) and planned each of our runs. We would do several weeks of base building which means we would be working up to being able to run 2-3 miles without stopping so that we could begin the ACTUAL race training program which would consist of 18 weeks of running four days a week. For someone who had NO running built into their regular day, this felt like a GIANT commitment and a BIG change in lifestyle. Suddenly it seemed like my entire day was planned around running. Not so much because it took so long, but more so because I thought about it all day long.
I woke up most days dreading it and with each new mileage increase, fearful that I would not be able to complete it. I did not enjoy it, but I put my shoes on and got myself out the door each and every day that I had a run scheduled. Why? Because I was so afraid of NOT doing the work. My determination was born entirely out of fear. Even though I didn’t enjoy the runs before or during them, I did feel a sense of accomplishment and immediate relief after each one. I began to notice that a few weeks into the program the shorter run days seemed like no big deal. And compared to long run days, I started to look forward to short training days. Not as much as I looked forward to rest days, but definitely more than long run days.
For beginners, most running plans consist of several short distance days and a weekly long run. The long run is an important piece of the total weekly mileage. For a beginner, the long run day is a BIG deal. This is the day you really feel your mileage increase as you build your endurance for running. To give you an idea of how the long run fits into the overall weekly plan, here is an example of week 1 from the novice training plan that I followed for my first race.
Monday rest
Tuesday 3 miles
Wednesday 3 miles
Thursday 3 miles
Friday rest
Saturday 6 miles
Sunday Cross train
I don’t know about everyone, but for ME going from 3 miles to 6 miles was a big deal. It felt hard! Most marathon plans work up from a 6 mile long run to a 20 mile long run. When I first began my training program, the thought of that 20 mile long run later in the training plan made me feel physically ill. I just could not imagine a world where I would be able to actually run 20 full miles with my own legs. It was terrifying.
I vividly remember our first 7 mile training run. At the time of our training my husband worked out of town during the week and then was home on the weekends, so we would each do our own training during the week and then complete our long run together on the weekend. As beginners, new distance was new to us. We didn't really know how much time to give ourselves, so we made sure to plan our schedule to allow plenty of time for each run. Our children were 9,11,13 at the time so we were constantly on the go with activities, friends and sports games and practices. On this particular day, the stars aligned and all of our kids had overnight plans with friends. We came up with the perfect plan. We would complete our run and then have a date night. If you are a parent, you know that having everyone accounted for somewhere else for the night is a big deal and not to be wasted. There were no carpools to arrange or practices to drop off and pick up from. We were FREE and we were going to ENJOY the evening just as soon as we got this pesky run out of the way. This pesky run that I had thought about and dreaded and wondered if I could complete multiple times each and every day in the week leading up to and including that day. This run had already taken up a large chunk of real estate in my mind and I was ready to have it behind me. With an unexpected date night ahead, I now had something to look forward to after the run.
And we set out to do our first real long run. It was hard, but we completed it. I was proud of us for getting it done, but not much stands out about the actual run. It was afterward.. The aftermath was epic. We were DESTROYED. We each got showered and cleaned up and then agreed that maybe we would lay down to rest for just a little while before going out to dinner.
As it turns out, there was not going to be dinner out or any type of date night that night. In fact, we were so wiped out we could barely GET OUT OF BED to make our way to the kitchen to find something to eat. I’m pretty sure I ate cereal in bed for dinner that night. The entire rest of the evening was spent IN BED feeling like trash from head to toe. I didn’t have enough experience to know that laying down and not moving was going to make me very stiff and sore the next day. I’m not sure it would have mattered though. First, I didn’t have the energy to get out of bed and second, there was probably nothing that was going to prevent me from being sore after this. Thank goodness the next day was a rest day!
What is really fascinating is how that first long broke the mold for me. Never again did I have to “take to the bed” for the rest of the day after a long run. Oh sure, they were painful, and I but I had reached a new level of capacity from that 7 mile experience that continued to grow as my runs became longer. It makes sense because the objective of a running plan is to build your endurance to a desired result. My body adapted just like it was being trained to.
What’s the Life Coach connection? I’m so glad you asked. I’m not going to ask you to lace up your shoes and head out for your own 7 mile experience, but I don’t want to invite you to consider for a moment what it means to build up your personal capacity in your everyday life. Your personal capacity is simply your current ability to perform in any area of your life. Just as I was increasing my physical capacity to run, you can increase your personal capacity in any specific area of your life by intentionally taking steps to build your abilities in that area.
When you set out to learn how to do something new you will be required in some way to increase your capacity to meet your goal or attain the skill you are developing. Usually you can expect to experience frustration as you are learning new skills and developing endurance in new areas. Just like I couldn’t go from 3 miles straight to that final long run of 20 miles, you will expand your capacity in increments. You can’t get there all at once. But, as you keep showing up and taking the necessary steps you make progress and your capacity in the area you have chosen increases.
It is important to realize and accept that expanding your capacity requires action. Increasing personal capacity is not just an idea that you can sit around and think about and suddenly have attained. It is a result of consistent, intentional action.
Let's use a balloon as an example. If I hand you a balloon that has not been filled with air, what do you know about the balloon? You likely know that by blowing air into the balloon, it will expand. The more air you fill it with, the larger it becomes. You can probably picture a balloon full of air. But does the balloon actually FILL with air just because you have a picture of it in your mind? Of course not. You have to actually fill it with air for the balloon to expand. This is true of expanding your capacity to reach your goal. You don’t expand your capacity to do more by thinking about your goal. You expand your capacity by doing a little more each time. In running, this is increasing your endurance through planned increases in training. There is a science to increasing mileage for a runner to achieve the desired result. That increase needs to happen incrementally for the body to safely reach the goal. Trying to do too much too soon will cause injury and likely lead to failure. The same is true in our daily life as we seek to learn, grow and expand our personal capacity for something new. Too much too soon is not an effective way to develop sustainable change.
One thing I learned through running that carries over into my regular life is that expanding your capacity is almost always uncomfortable in the moment. I have this great reminder to myself in the form of all these memories of when I was expanding my capacity physically that I CAN get through the uncomfortable parts and I will be better for it on the other side of enduring the discomfort as I work toward the goal. This has helped me to build up a tolerance for being uncomfortable. It’s this uncomfortable place where change and growth is happening. How do you know you have reached a new level of capacity? Simple, it no longer feels hard. Whatever it is, that felt hard and uncomfortable is now just part of you and has expanded your life in one way or another.
As we come to a close today, I wonder, Is there an area of your life that you are working on to expand your capacity right now? If so, I would like to leave you with these final thoughts of encouragement.
Embrace the discomfort. It won't last forever.
Nothing has gone wrong.
Your growth is worth it.
Have a wonderful week, my friends. I hope to see you back next week for Episode 3 of Running to Myself.
