Pacing. Hydration. Rest. Trust.

I spent ten years of my life training for, competing in, and coaching runners for marathons. In the span of ten years, I went from a casual 5k runner to a marathoner on a quest to qualify for the Boston marathon. While I never reached that particular goal, I learned so many valuable lessons in that decade that apply not only to my continued running, my coaching of MS and HS cross country runners but also, and perhaps more importantly, every day life.

I’ve heard many people describe this time of distance learning and social isolation as a marathon, not a sprint. Corollaries have also been drawn to the longer endurance races like centuries, 100k’s, and Ironman. Having completed the latter, I can see that, too. So here are some bullet points of lessons that may just serve us well in this time, and perhaps someday when we get back to running marathons again. Be that the marathon of the day, or the one that takes our feet across the pavement for a few hours.

• Pace yourself. Even if that means starting slower. If you are in for the long haul, you have to assure that you won’t fizzle out. Start slow, work up to comfort, and then push yourself now and again.
• Hydrate. Yes, literally, we as a society need more water and drink up, my friends. But also, water your spirit-do what you need to find the joy in what you do. Nutrition goes here, too, feeding not only your body with good, whole foods , but your soul, put goodness into your soul to send goodness out.
• Rest. Sometimes in training for running, you need more rest than you realize. I would often tell runners, better to take an extra day of rest you choose than to be forced into rest by injury or burn out. Proper sleep-not over sleep-and giving yourself permission to say no to the extra zoom happy hour (if you’re an introvert like me) or yes to the nappuchino is good.
• Trust the process. This not only works for Nick Saban and University of Alabama football, but for all of us. Learning is about process. Running a marathon is about process. The final grade or the finish line time are just a by-product. We learn and grow within the process. We are all learning this new reality while we are delivering and supporting the process. This isn’t how it usually works, but what is usual is the reflection upon the process, not just product. We will takes steps forward, back, and sideways. We will have great days. We will have terrible days. They are all integral to the process.

In these days of constant change around us, we can hone in on the basics-pace, hydrate, rest, and trust. And while the results won’t always fall into place, we know we can fall back onto these important tenants to keep ourselves moving onward.