Follow the Plan - Give It Your Best

I got the opportunity to run the iconic Boston Marathon this month.

Held each year on Patriot’s Day (April 17), the Boston marathon is a “bucket list” race for many serious distance runners. The qualifications for entry are stiff. All 30,000 entrants (less 3,000 charity spots) had to run a qualifying time in a sanctioned marathon. There are people all over the world who work for years to earn a cherished spot in their respective age group.  

To run a “Boston qualifying” time, runners must have a training plan and execute it diligently. If training runs are skipped or if their body isn’t able to recover well enough from them, they won’t be able to get the results they need to qualify.

Thank goodness I was able to execute my plans and earn a qualifying time at the Surf City Marathon in February 2016.  Since then, I’ve been training faithfully and doing what I can to prepare for the big day.

Patriot’s Day arrived and I was ready. I’d done the work and got myself to the starting line of the 2017 Boston Marathon. The starting area was bustling with nerves and enthusiasm as music blared and jets flew overhead.

The horn sounded and we were off!

I was comfortable with my race plan, but something felt wrong for the first 10 miles. Something was different about this race – it started at 10:50am, which is 3 hours later than every other marathon I’ve run. And it was hot!

I had a great 13.1 split, and then “Heart Break Hill” arrived. It's a 5-mile section of the course that’s basically one big hill. I didn’t plan on it being as hard as it was. Many people were walking because they couldn’t run it.

I pressed on and crossed the finish line. My time was 15 minutes slower than I’d planned – but I finished. When I realized that I’d missed my goal, my first thoughts were of how poorly I’d done. Then I realized that I'd still completed the mission – just not exactly how I planned.

The point is, even the best laid plans have curve balls sometimes. Whether it’s in life or business, you just have to plan for what you know and be ready to adjust as necessary.

Give it your best, 
Marty

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