Knowing Your Limits

One of my fitness goals coming into the year was to run a half marathon in 1 hour 30 minutes (6:50 / mile pace) and circled the Brooklyn Half Marathon on 4/28 as the race where I would go for it.

I gave myself 8 weeks to prepare and felt great going into that training cycle. I completed a full marathon less than 4 months ago when I had been in the best running shape of my life. I was still running 2-3x a week and working out every day. I figured I would jump right back in and be hitting my goal pace in no time.

I was wrong. Running is hard. Trying to run fast when you haven’t been consistently pushing yourself is painful. It was hard to even reach my target pace, let alone maintain it for 13 miles. After week 1, I became a little less confident.

And then I got sick which kept me in bed for three days. But as soon as I felt a little bit better, I was right back on the road powering through 22 miles the second half of week 2, most of it outside in 30 to 40-degree weather, followed by a dip in the cold plunge right after. Because #nodaysoff.

Hooray for me!

As a reward for my “discipline”, grit, and stupidity, the universe gifted me with another cold last week. I knew objectively that running again so soon was a bad idea. If I were giving advice to a friend, I would have told them to ease back into training and only after you’re given sufficient time to recover. But people never listen to their own advice. I was so focused on making up for lost time that I set myself back even further.

This tendency to push things past my limits is something I’ve always struggled with. I used to do this all the time with drinking. I never knew when to stop. Now, I’ve just replaced the alcohol with seemingly healthier pursuits. But it’s still the same problem. Too much is too much, even of a good thing.

Learning these lessons firsthand is the only way they will sink in enough so that I will avoid the same mistakes in the future. Even though I was feeling better by the weekend, I replaced my Sunday long run with an indoor treadmill session (I definitely thought about it though) and made sure to start this week with very easy runs only.

I’m already 25% of the way through my training and in even worse shape than I was before I started. The race is only 6 weeks out and I have no idea whether I’ll be able to hit my goal time.

And that’s ok.

I think it’s important to not get too caught up and obsess over your goals after you set them. Maybe I crush the next 6 weeks of training and hit my time. Or maybe I don’t. All I can do is put in my best effort and learn from any mistakes for the next time.

For all of us, there’s something in your life that might be wearing you out. Something where you’re pushing too hard or doing too much. Remember that it’s ok to give yourself a break.

Don’t forget to take care of yourself at the end of the day. Know your limits and listen to your body. It’s the one you were born with and the only one you’ll ever get.

You have the rest of your life to get ready for. There is always another race around the corner.