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Restart!

I got up on the line knowing exactly what it was I intended to do. For months I had trained for the Madison Marathon and on this perfect May morning I was going to throw down my first marathon ever and cross the line a Boston Qualifier. A shot of the gun  and I was off with my pace group shooting to run a three hour race, but as the race went on the voice in my head nagged me to go faster. Finally at mile 10, believing that perhaps I could go a little bit faster I broke away from the lead pack with another runner. We cruised down the streets of Madison with spectators cheering us on and for a while it felt great. That is, until mile fifteen came along.

The rest of the race after mile fifteen was nothing short of hell. There even came a point in the race where I mentally could no longer take the pain and I began to walk. With my head down in shame I trudged slowly with a new goal in mind, just finish. 

Then out of nowhere I heard a voice calmly say, "Come on Zach, let's go." I turned to see my high school freshman English teacher at my side urging me to continue. This was no trick of the mind, my teacher was honestly on this course competing as well. Thanks to her little push, I picked up my feet and began putting one foot in front of the other and managed to pick up the pace. I was able to keep this pace for the remainder of the race and was also cheered on by a surprise group of Wisconsin of Association of School Councils(WASC) Leadership Camp delegates. Eventually I crossed the line in a time that I've had no trouble forgetting and that I have no intention of ever knowing. Since that day I have yet to get back on the horse and even begin to start training for another marathon...that is until five weeks ago. 

After almost three years of avoiding actually running a marathon, through various tactics, mostly lame excuses, I have signed up for the Manitowoc Marathon and the Madison Marathon and begun the training to chase down my dream. 

I tell you this story because it goes with the theme of this week, "Restarting." We all have goals that we've tried to achieve and failed to reach. We've tried to break bad habits, start good habits, become healthier, and so forth only to fall short. Here's the good news. It's okay! It's okay as along as you're willing to restart! 

So here's the challenge I issue to you now. Take the time to think about a goal that you've tried to reach and missed. Evaluate why you missed it, reset it, recommit and restart today! 

LIVE it Up,

-Zach



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