Keep Going.

I was running my first half marathon in winter of 2009 in State College, Pa. There was snow on the ground. The temperature was in the 30’s and it was freaking cold. I had been training for this for months, had been injured in the process but I kept moving through and got to the start line.

The race starts out fairly flat and goes down towards the airport on a long road before turning and heading straight down hill for about a 3 mile stretch. “Downhill sounds fun, doesn’t it? Gravity helps you! It’s easy to run downhill” are all things I said before reaching the the bottom of that hill and realizing that running on wet and snowy roads while heading downhill is actually quite brutal. It hits different muscles in your legs and the balancing act of it is exhausting. I got to the bottom of the hill and had not yet stopped running. Although the pace in which I was running could be described as a slow jog. Or better yet, a fast walk. I was towards the end of the race and knew what was coming: the long mile long hill. The mile long hill that passes a hospital that many people who have run this race described a sudden urge to turn toward the hospital and enter the emergency room. I laughed when I read those reviews prior to running the race. I did not laugh when I was looking at the hospital crawling up the hill at a snail’s pace considering taking that detour to the front desk of the ER.

I was thinking of quitting. I was towards the end of the pack. I did not enter this race thinking I would win or even finish in the top 1/2. I entered this race to prove that I could do it. But as the miles wore on and the pain in my legs got worse, I was thinking of quitting. I was embarrassed that I was being passed by people 2 and 3 times my age. My ego started to take over.

I had slowed down to a walk and was not sure I could do it.

Then there was this woman and what looked to be her 8 or 9 year old daughter that were running past me. The women looked at me and said with a cheerful yet strained tone, “Keep going. You got his. You have a mile left. You can run a mile. “

Those words were what I needed. I thanked her either with a half smile, a nod of my head or actual words- I don’t remember. I just know that I thanked her with my whole being for encouraging me. And I kept going. I ran up that hill and around the corner and hobbled across the finish line.

I have never forgotten about that woman. I had never met her prior to that moment and I have never seen her since. But she made an impact on my life by those simple encouraging words. Keep going.

I am passing those words on to you. What is your “straight uphill mile” situation that is slowing you down, stopping you or even pushing you to quit? What can you do to keep going? What can you do to keep moving forward? To push through the pain? The fear? The uncertainty?

I encourage you to keep going. I did. You can, too.