On October 14^{th<\/sup>, 2012, I ran my first full marathon in Niagara Falls. I started in one country and finished in another.\u00a0 It took me 4 hours, 30 minutes, and 28 seconds.\u00a0 It was an amazing experience and I learned so much along the way.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n}

I want to share with you some lessons I learned and how they apply to life.<\/em><\/p>\n

I learned a lot, so I broke it into 2 separate posts \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>1. Set a goal and commit to it<\/i><\/b>.<\/i> If you don\u2019t know where you are going, how do you expect to get there?\u00a0 Pick a distance, pick a date, register for the race, and broadcast it.\u00a0 The clearer you are on your destination, the easier it is to set your route.<\/p>\n

People are more likely to disappoint themselves than they are to disappoint others.\u00a0 So, once your goal is set, tell people about it.\u00a0 A lot of people.\u00a0 These same people will check in with you to see how you are progressing.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great motivator and helps hold you accountable.<\/p>\n

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2.<\/strong> Challenge yourself by thinking big.<\/i><\/b>\u00a0Push past what you think you can do and stretch your limits.<\/p>\n

Prior to registering for the race, my longest run was 20km.\u00a0 I figured I was just going to register for the half marathon, as it was close to what I had already run.\u00a0 A friend of mine said, you can already pretty much run the half marathon, so why not push yourself to do a full marathon?\u00a0 At first, I thought he was crazy, and I quickly realized I was crazy because I agreed with him.\u00a0 On June 21^{st<\/sup>, 2012 I registered for my first full marathon.<\/p>\n}

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3.<\/strong> Don\u2019t be afraid to ask for help<\/i><\/b>.<\/i>\u00a0 Surround yourself with the right people.\u00a0 If you could do it on your own, you would have done it already.<\/p>\n

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• Fast track your results by hiring a coach.\u00a0 A good coach will help you clearly define your goals and set a plan in place to help you achieve them.\u00a0 My coach helped me follow my plan but was quick to revise my training when I got injured.\u00a0 Shit happens.\u00a0 When it does, it\u2019s great to have someone with expertise who can objectively offer up guidance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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  • \u00a0Connect with a strong support group.\u00a0 Distance yourself from the naysayers or otherwise known as the energy suckers.\u00a0 They will drag you down.\u00a0 Instead, connect with people that will lift you up, inspire you, challenge you and make you smile.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    It\u2019s much easier making excuses to yourself than it is to others.\u00a0\u00a0 Share your goals with the group and they will support you and hold you accountable. \u00a0Without my coach and support group, I would not have finished my marathon.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0What excuses are you telling yourself?\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n

    Who can you ask for help?<\/b><\/p>\n

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    4.<\/strong> Track your progress. <\/i><\/b>\u00a0\u00a0What gets measured gets improved.\u00a0 Know where you are, and where you want to go, and then keep a log of your progress. \u00a0Past performance helps to plan for future results.<\/span> \u00a0It\u2019s also a great motivator to push a little harder so you could improve upon your personal best.<\/p>\n

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    What would you like to improve?\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n

    How can you start measuring it?<\/b><\/p>\n

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    5.<\/strong> Don\u2019t compare yourself to others. <\/i>\u00a0<\/b>Everyone is unique. \u00a0Set your own goals and own them.\u00a0 Some people are cool just to finish the race, while others are looking to finish in a specific time so they can qualify for another big race.\u00a0 This one was hard for me at first as I let my pride get in the way.\u00a0 When I started with my running group, I had a slight injury and most people were passing me.\u00a0 I would try to keep up, but it just caused me more pain and I would have to cut my runs short.\u00a0 \u00a0I was quick to realize that I was running according to their goals, not my own.\u00a0 As soon as I realized this, I was able to run further, with less effort.\u00a0
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    Who are you comparing yourself to?<\/b><\/p>\n

    How is it impacting your decisions?<\/b><\/p>\n

    How is it holding you back?<\/b><\/p>\n

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    To check out the remaining 5 life lessons, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Thanks for reading.\u00a0 I hope you enjoyed these lessons, and can somehow integrate some of them into your life.<\/p>\n

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    I would love to hear from you.<\/p>\n

    What crazy challenges did you overcome to achieve a big goal?<\/p>\n

    What life lessons can you share with everyone else?<\/p>\n

    Enter your comments below.<\/p>\n

    It’s time to pay it forward.\u00a0 Who do you know that could get something out of these lessons?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    On October 14th, 2012, I ran my first full marathon in Niagara Falls. I started in one country and finished in another.\u00a0 It took me 4 hours, 30 minutes, and 28 seconds.\u00a0 It was an amazing experience and I learned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[31,36],"tags":[58,48,68,69,45,51],"yoast_head":"\n