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The past few days have been some of the best weather we have felt in a couple of months. It didn’t barely touched the 70s and had that nice crisp feeling in the air.
Taylor and I even ended last night with a fire and a good book at sunset.
All this great weather is that first glimpse of Fall coming. I know it will warm back up before it’s here, but I feel like in North Carolina we always get a few days of a sneak peek before each season.
Fall obviously comes with some amazing things like flannel, cooler weather, beautiful leaves, all the delicious treats, and so much more! But it also means we are officially entering marathon season!
And this Fall, I have 2 marathons I plan to run. I wanted to take this article to outline why I’m doing 2 and what is going on!
Let’s jump in!
Why 2 Marathons?
The first question to ask is why am I running 2 marathons in one season?
And that’s a fair question.
The easy answer would be to say I’m crazy and move on.
But there is some nuance here because multiple marathons is a lot more than running multiple 5Ks.
You recover very quickly from a 5K.
A marathon…not as quick…
But plenty of people run multiple marathons in a season. Some people even race multiple marathons in a season.
Running and racing are different. Racing is when you run the marathon as fast as possible. You can run a marathon and not take as much damage as racing it.
So I know it’s possible and I’m ready to take on this challenge. I think it will be interesting to see if I can race the first marathon, then within 8 weeks, recover, build back up, sharpen, and taper before the next marathon.
If you read last week’s article you know we are now in a new long series called “Breaking 2:55” and these first 2 marathons are me just chipping away at that goal.
I don’t know if I’ll be ready to break 2:55 in the marathon this Fall, but I do have a goal of hitting a new PR (Personal Record) at each race.
This will be a big goal, but that gets me just a little closer to that 2:55 barrier.
One race at a time.
Bound for Boston
Another reason for multiple races this season is that I found a pretty early season race to start out with.
This race will take place on August 31st, which is now just a couple of weeks away!
This is called the Bound for Boston race:
https://runsignup.com/Race/GA/JohnsCreek/BostonBoundMarathonHalfMarathon
It is designed for speed so you can get your Boston time qualifying marathon. Again, I don’t know if I’ll be ready for a sub 2:55, but I do think I’ll be ready for a PR.
This race also has a super interesting layout:
1 mile flat loops
Yes, I will run 26 loops in a row of the same exact thing.
Are you insane?
Maybe.
The thing is, when you get in the groove of a marathon you don’t really take in your surroundings that much. So my hope is that I can just get in the groove, breathe, and settle in. Then going 26 laps won’t make much of a difference.
In fact, knowing it’s the same loop over and over takes away any distractions like trying to figure out which way the course goes next, will there be another hill, etc. I know exactly what’s ahead.
To make matters even better, this also means we get to put out our own hydration and nutrition on a table to hit every mile. This will be a huge advantage too!
All in all, I think I’ve determined this race will either be amazing OR miserable.
I don’t think there’s an in between…so we shall see.
Honestly, the thing I’m most worried about for this race is the weather.
Georgia summer weather doesn’t really go away until October. They have some cool waves here and there, but there is still a good chance that when this race starts at 6:30am on August 31st, that it’s already hot and humid.
And I’m not ready for humidity.
So…again, we shall see. But either way, a PR is coming!
Bound for France?
After the race in Georgia, I’ll have about 8 weeks to recover and train back up for a late October marathon.
I had originally planned to do this race in Durham, NC.
But something interesting has happened. My work is sending me back to France to work with a client there for 2 weeks in October.
Right when I planned to race.
But perhaps God wanted me to get some cool content for a race in Europe! Truthfully, He answered a big prayer in moving the trip from September to October as that works a lot better for our family.
As we finalize those dates it looks like Taylor will be able to join in for an extra week around the first of November. This will be a fun time to have a baby moon and celebrate our 5 year anniversary!
And run my first marathon in Europe! It is looking like we may target the Brussels marathon, but TBD.
All in all, I’m pretty stoked…although I need to get used to saying it’s 42.2KM…
Embracing New Challenges
Running a marathon is a challenge. Racing one for a new PR is a challenge. And now racing 2 marathons in a single season is a challenge. Next Spring I’ll face a new challenge of an ultra marathon in the mountains.
My point here is that life is always full of new challenges.
And we don’t always choose the challenges that come at us.
My work just threw a new challenge at me with this client trip in October.
Taylor and I will become parents in January, and we know Bo will bring all sorts of new challenges with him too.
2 Timothy 2 says this:
“You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer. Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer ought to be the first to get a share of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2 Timothy 2:1-7 CSB).
I think there is a lot in this passage. But the reality of what Paul is telling Timothy is that challenges will come. Paul himself is in prison about to be killed while writing this, so he definitely knows all about challenges.
But he reminds Timothy that the solider, the athlete, and the farmer are all a part of something bigger than themselves. And they all have to endure hardship to contribute.
As an endurance athlete, the example that stands out to me is “if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”
What stands out to me is that the “good” athlete does 2 things: competes AND knows the rules.
Knowing the rules isn’t good enough. You can know all the rules of the marathon, but that doesn’t mean you are ready to compete.
Being ready to compete means you’ve put in the practice over and over. You’ve faced challenges that resemble the real challenge ahead. You’ve trained yourself to know how to overcome that kind of hardship.
I think Paul uses these analogies because facing hardship of any kind translates to all aspects of life.
Whether it was a hardship thrust upon you like a skateboarding accident, or you choose the hardship like signing up for 2 marathons, enduring these challenges makes us stronger, more patient, and more resilient when facing life’s unforeseen hardships.
This growth also enables us to do the good work Christ called us to despite the hardships we face.
So what does that look like for you?
You don’t have to sign up for a marathon, but I know in America for certain, we love our comfort.
But comfort doesn’t prepare you for the struggles of life.
So my encouragement to whomever made it this far in the article is that whatever it is that pushes you out of comfort, and makes you endure something difficult, go do that thing.
And until next time, run with joy!