Yesterday reminded me why I am a coach and why I run. My friend, Deacon, completed his first half marathon today. We ran together and while usually my race experience is defined by my time, this experience was defined by pure joy.
We ran together the whole time. We didn't fuss over a few seconds lost for a bathroom break or waiting for traffic to cross a street. We ran, side-by-side, pushing each other and helping each other. I looked around, I took in the views, I experienced the atmosphere, instead of focusing on my Garmin, beating myself up over a split or getting annoyed at losing 20 seconds while waiting for traffic. I removed myself, my pride, my desire to run faster, and allowed myself to be part of another person's experience. Deacon went into the race with a great attitude; he wanted to have fun, enjoy it and accomplish a life long goal along the way. Thus, my goal, as his coach, was to help him achieve all of those goals. I pushed when he needed that extra push at mile 11, I reminded him to stop and actually drink the water at the stops, and I got to experience the pure joy and excitement when he crossed the finish line in 1:49.
Coaching Deacon in the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon today was fun, exciting and just as thrilling as accomplishing my own PR marathon time last year. It reminded me why I'm a coach and why I love running.
The joy of running is personal and limitless in its definition. Find the joy in running and it'll change your perspective.
Meghan and Deacon showing their bling