This morning I enjoyed a near perfect run. Just under 60 minutes of pure bliss. My body felt warm and strong, and the miles flew by easily. I took my first steps under the stars, and my last steps under the sun. I realized that if I am presented with ideal running conditions for the next few weeks, I will be completely prepared to rock my marathon on April 27.
As Pitbull rapped in my ears about “this wild, wild love,” I thought to myself about my wild wild love for many things: running, my family, Detroit, how much I’ve grown during the past six months of my fellowship experience, the smoothie I was about to taste, the feeling of sunshine on my skin. Then, with a few taps of my thumb, I was overcome with negativity.
After my runs I always quickly catch up on my phone. I respond to texts, check emails, and, some mornings, if I have a few minutes to spare, I investigate Twitter, Facebook, the weather, etc. My eyes saw what was confirmed 20 minutes later to my ears by the radio. Snow. Lots of snow. Tomorrow. 24 hours after a perfect run, I will likely be confronted with a miserable 60 minutes on the treadmill. Immediately, my mind hissed pessimistically about how the terrible weather is going to force me inside. I pitied myself for having to compromise my marathon training because of the weather.
Then, suddenly, I forced myself to laugh. The weather is not responsible for my marathon results, I am. I can blame a poor performance on poor training conditions (ice, snow, below freezing temps), or, I can train harder. I can rely on myself, and I can push harder.
Self -reliance has been a resounding theme for me lately. As I look towards life after Challenge Detroit, I have realized that it is up to me to make great things happen for myself. I once heard a phrase that I try to tell myself often: If you want something badly enough, you will make it happen. Otherwise, you will make an excuse. If I want to run a sub 4:00:00 marathon, I will train harder, better, smarter, and I will make it happen. Otherwise, I can blame missing the mark on the snow. But how lame is that? Akin to that, if I want an extraordinary job after Challenge Detroit, I must rely on myself, search harder, network smarter, craft cover letters with more tact, and make it happen.