We certainly have a soft spot in our hearts for the Boston Marathon, and today is Patriot’s Day – aka Marathon Monday!
Training for a marathon is many months of time, dedication, and an endless rotation of running/sleeping/eating. It’s not really something to commit to lightly.
So that’s what is so great about Patriot’s Day. For 119 years, men and women have dedicated a major portion of their year to training for this 26.2 mile journey from Hopkinton to Boston. In fact, that’s what’s great about competition in general. We have an opportunity to train for something big, we have a date that we can work toward, and on that day, we then get to lay all of our hard work out on the ground.
Competing – whether at an elite level or not – allows you to realize how big your sport is, how diverse and deep the community surrounding it is, and how far you can push to make magic happen. Regardless of the sport, people tend to perform at a level they never thought possible when put in a competitive situation. It’s pretty amazing to watch!
If you haven’t signed up for a race or competition within your sport – do it! Enjoy the pursuit of getting to the starting line, and relish in the afterglow when you finish competing. You may just surprise yourself, and reignite your hunger to make changes to your training.