079: My Turn (One Year Later): Half-Marathon Reflections and Finishing Strong in the Aging Journey
A lot can change in a year.
Last year (April 2024) I watched my youngest daughter cross the finish line of her first half-marathon (13.1 miles) at the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.
As a spectator, I wrote about that experience sharing my practical observations and applying them to the aging journey.
Now, a year later (April 2025) at the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon I went from spectator to participant and completed that same half-marathon (13.1 miles) together with my daughter who doubled last year's distance completing the event's full marathon (26.2 miles).
I've shared a few observations and applications here from my training throughout the past months leading up to this year's event.
Among those discoveries about perseverance, training, attitude, and more I deeply treasure the opportunity of running the first eight miles of this year's event alongside my daughter before she split off on her final 18 miles and I continued my final five or so.
The entire experience overall was life and mindset changing: from painful training runs early on (beginning Fall 2024), to my dialed-in, official 15 week training plan that spanned the harsh cold of the winter months to the warm, hot, humid, and rainy early Spring months.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the early training calf-cramps, the nagging achilles tendon issue, and the hip muscle strain I encountered in my final training run the week of the event (that also decided to show up again around mile five or six during the event).
Like aging, the decision to move from spectator to participant will test you, but your resolve will propel you to discover you have more in-the-tank than you thought
In spite of the training challenges, the occasional "what-the-heck-am-I-doing?" thoughts, and the event-day jitters I'm stoked to be back running again (and yes, I'm staying at it - no one-and-done for this dude)!
What I've discovered as the result of my daughter's inspiration and running partnership, the weekly isolation of training during two occasionally challenging environmental seasons, and from the event itself is the energy and hope to take on whatever aging throws my way - and hopefully your way based on my discoveries.
- Preparation drives your desired outcomes
- Positivity and support gives you a reason to keep going
- Perseverance compels you to finish strong
Prepare for the outcomes you desire
I've heard the stories of runners saying they did little to no training before a distance running event.
If they're capable and wired for that, more power to 'em.
My daughter and I, on the other hand, took our training seriously, knowing that what we invested in terms of time, sweat, and energy would somehow pay off on race day.
And our disciplined preparation did not disappoint.
We both finished our respective events within our pace and time goals.
Preparation helped eliminate the desperation we might otherwise have felt when we hit a "wall" on race-day (the "wall" is that moment in a run when you feel like you have nothing left in tank physically or mentally).
I told myself on occasion throughout my half-marathon that, "I'd been here before...," feeling the fatigue at a certain mile...but knowing that I could push through because I had done so on my weekly long training runs.
As you age, "race-day" is somewhat everyday in one form or another.
Could be a health issue, an emotional ambush, or a close to retirement setback relative to your financial portfolio.
Or general fatigue could set in and sap your energy to get up and get moving on any given day.
Prepare yourself to take-on the challenges or "walls" you hit as you age.
- Increase your physical and emotional "mileage" through healthy habits so you're better prepared for longevity.
- Push yourself when you're tempted to give up on a second-half career idea, to heal a relationship by having a necessary conversation, or when you're tempted to be sedentary instead of being intentional about daily movement.
Surround yourself with positive support to keep going
Large running events like my daughter and I recently participated in are a festive fun atmosphere before, during, and afterwards.
There was a contagious energy generated by the nearly 18,000 who ran with us plus the estimated one to two thousand who lined the streets along the course and gathered at the finish line.
Even so, it was our lil crew of personal supporters that included my wife, our oldest daughter, our teenage grandson, and friends of my runner-daughter that gave us the positive stoke we needed to push through at various mileage points along the course.
Whether you're running or just trying to get through to the next day - treasure your tribe.
The positivity generated by those who cheer you on is priceless whatever you're doing or experiencing.
Your aging journey will sap your motivation and energy so make sure you have a tribe who send positive vibes of support your way.
Persevere all the way to the finish line
When participating in an endurance event the thought of stopping or quitting does cross your mind.
But training is key to overcoming that temptation.
Feeling the fatigue at a certain mileage point and then persevering instead of giving up causes you to realize that you do indeed have more push-through in you than you thought.
Seeing the finishing chute in the distance, hearing the race announcer's voice echoing encouragement over the loudspeakers as each runner crossed the finish line, turning the corner down the homestretch, seeing our personal "tribe" of encouragers along the fence, approaching the large video screens alongside the overhead finish-line canopy - perseverance rewarded me with a burst of finishing energy.
The longer you live and the more aging impacts your daily routines you'll find more compelling reasons to persevere if you keep your eyes fixed on finishing strong.
Perseverance rewards the prepared.
- Prepare to stay active - action and movement keeps you healthy physically and emotionally.
- Push through the obstacles you encounter - resilience becomes a reservoir of strength when life gets hard.
- Plan to finish strong - time logged gives you the opportunity to leverage your earned wisdom and establish your legacy.
Aging, like an endurance event, challenges you to discover how prepared you are for the journey ahead
- Prepare for the outcomes you desire
- Surround yourself with positive support to keep going
- Persevere all the way to the finish line
Press on...
Eddie