I ran my seventh full marathon – 26.2 miles amongst a throng of thousands all with a common goal: to cross the finish line and receive the participant’s medal. Completing a marathon comes down to being able to harness the mind; you see the mind will give up before the body ever will.
The mental fortitude of marathon running, or any other endurance sport, is ultimately about overpowering the limitations of our mind and surrendering to the notion that we are always much more capable than we allow ourselves to be.
Running a race, for me, is about checking in. When I was diagnosed with MS in 2000, I was told that I would be in a wheelchair in ten years and dead in twenty. The ugly disease had already begun to cause extreme fatigue, mental fog, the tendency to drop things and a difficulty in speaking. Within the next three years, it would become more advanced with excruciating pain, problems with my vision, numbness and tingling on the left side of my body and a deep dark depression that weighed on me, following me around like a dark cloud I could never escape.
No matter how bad it was, I made myself go out and run. I did fall on occasion and yes, it was excruciatingly hard, and no, I didn’t always want to run, but I made myself do it because to not would be to give in to the disease. I gave up racing because I was too ill and every time I ran it was pure survival, a test of my will; who would be the victor – me or my body?
I have found that with MS, what works for one person may not work for another. I know people who have success with natural therapies where others do not. There are people, whom I have met, who have surgeries to expand a vein in their neck and seem to find some sort of relief. MS is a complex illness and the myriad of solutions are no less complex. For me, it was a series of choices; first finding the right physician and the right care team. The second was making significant changes, specifically in my diet. The third, and most important, was the necessary shift that came in my mindset; it wasn’t about beating a disease, it was about being enough to either harmonize with the illness or let it go.
When I ran the race, I had the opportunity to observe my thoughts and know that there are still areas to work on.
We never know how far we have come or how far we have to go until we test our limits, and for me, racing gives me the gift of working on silencing my busy mind while pushing my body through a test.
This is where meditation has been extremely powerful and why for all three and a half plus hours I was constantly in prayer and meditation; at times feeling the sensation as though I was calmly observing my body from a vantage point of deep and profound peace. My goal is to one day run the entire marathon in that mode and to still be doing races at the age of one hundred.
We are equipped to create the life of our dreams, supersede our perceived limitations and inspire others to do the same. The power to live this life comes from the ability to control our thoughts, feelings and emotions and not let these thoughts, feelings and emotions control us. The path to this level of control comes through daily prayer, meditation, exercise and a clean diet. It isn’t necessarily easy, however it is deeply rewarding.
Lastly, know that I believe in the power of you. I believe you can truly be, do and have anything you dream. Know that you are enough and that by training your mind, all things are possible. Below are the lessons that I have learned from running and racing.
Life Lessons from Running and Racing
- No matter what, do the best you can on the given day.
- Quitting is not an option. Finishing is the only option.
- Success is due to consistency and not making bold dashes at the beginning only to fizzle out at the end.
- The mind will give up long before the body ever will and that is why meditations, such as The Shift, have allowed me to overcome any limitations that my body may have.
- We are enough. No matter what we want to accomplish or experience in this life, we are enough to both set forth on the journey and complete the task.
“The key to success in life is running and reading.” – Will Smith
Step into your power with Susan Sly.
