Three days from now I'll be running my 2nd half-marathon. I think I've prepared well, and run plenty, so I should be physically ready. Maybe a little bit of carbing up Thursday and Friday, and that should do it.
As everyone who has tackled a wellness lifestyle knows, the physical victories are only part of the game. The bigger challenge is usually the mental connection we need to make with why we are choosing to do what we're doing: "do I need to do this? Now? Really?" Overcoming the mental hurdles can be huge.
While I've never seen the whole movie, I remember a quote from "We Bought a Zoo":"Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, just literally 20 seconds of just embarrassing bravery, and I promise you something great will come of it." Think about it. All our mental gymnastics that convince us it won't work, or that we need to back down, or that it's time to quit... all those can likely be overcome by 20 seconds of insane courage.
For the half-marathon, I'll need a lot more than 20 seconds. It will take more like 2 hours of insane courage (and then some) to keep convincing myself I can finish well. My goal? Beat my previous half-marathon time, and come in at around 2 hours and 15 minutes.... We'll see.
So what do you have pending where you need more courage than is normal? If something has you feeling out-of-your-league, or just plain overwhelmed, maybe all you need to do is muster a burst (or stream) of courage, and forge ahead. For me, we'll see what the race holds, and I know I'll be focused on finishing strong.
By the Way
You can check out the clip from "We Bought a Zoo" here:
20 Seconds of Courage clip
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