Together We Think

It’s in the books! I finished my first 1/2 Marathon this past weekend in Nashville at the Country Music Marathon. It was a great and interesting experience and it was amazing to be a part of 23,000+ runners and walkers all dedicated for good reasons to this endeavor. So what did I learn? Here are some bullets on my reflections:

1. It is much easier to do something difficult with others - I was invited by a friend to be a part and I felt the common spirit of all the runners as we passed and followed one another through the streets of Nashville.
2. We all need the encouragement of others to make it - I was amazed by the amount of people who showed up just to encourage us on to our goal of finishing the race. There were many times that the extra encouragement gave me the lift I needed to continue.
3. The stronger can have a huge influence on the weaker if they want to - I was very encouraged to see those who had finished ahead of me come back down the course to offer words of encouragement. It meant a lot!
4. Our bodies and minds are able to endure much more than we think - The race was incredibly taxing on my body and mind, but I pushed through it to finish my goal. By the end of the day I had recovered and by the next I felt great! I realized that I am much more capable at times than I give myself credit for.
5. Sometimes we need to push ourselves beyond our limits to reach our full potential - It was a real challenge for me to take the time and investment to prepare for this event and a few times I felt like giving up, but the pay-off of completing the race was well worth pushing myself and in the end it stretched me to become a better man.

I am sure as I reflect more, there will be other great lessons learned, but these are a few that stood out to me. I hope you find some encouragement from them and who knows, maybe you will be running with me next year in Nashville!!!!!! I know you can do it!!!!!