Endurance is Alot More than You Probably Realize

As usual, during my runs and workouts, my gears spin. As someone with 3 marathons on my belt and over two dozen half marathons in - I think I have some insight on endurance. Here's kind of a "poem" I wrote about endurance.

ENDURANCE
is patient
is humble
is 99% mental
is different for everyone
doesn't compare
doesn't give up
stays consistent

Let me elaborate on my "tenants" of endurance.

ENDURANCE IS PATIENT
Yes, it is. It has to be. So, you didn't hit your projected goal time or "personal record"? It's okay. It's also okay to be dissapointed. But it is not okay to beat yourself up about it or give up. Try again. There are any number of things that could have caused you to miss the mark you set - from overtraining, lack of rest, nutritional imbalance, life stress, etc! As I said, try again. You will get there.

ENDURANCE IS HUMBLE
Trust me, when you hit an insane grade of a hill at mile 21 of your marathon, the last thing you should feel is boastful. Go ahead, try to be boastful about it. I will end up passing by you at my "turtle" pace once you gassed yourself out.

ENDURANCE IS 99% MENTAL
No matter what event you're training for, you'll hit a mental wall. There will be some point where sheer force of will is the only thing keeping you going. Trust me.

ENDURANCE IS DIFFERENT FOR EVERYBODY
This one is fairly self explanatory. What requires a great deal of mental and physical endurance for one person might be completely different for another. We are all at different places in our journey.

ENDURANCE DOESN'T COMPARE
If you are at the gym busting ass, good for you. If you also have the energy to compare yourself to the supermodel in front of you who appears to be effortlessly moving, then you're not engaging in true endurance. True endurance takes all your physical and mental capacities. The last thing on your mind should be how another person's performance is "better" than yours. If that's where your mind is, you need to ask yourself why you're doing what you're doing in the first place.

ENDURANCE DOESN'T GIVE UP
This one ties in closely with my other tenants that endurance is patient, and is 99% mental. You planned to run 5 miles, then barring a serious physical ailment or an act of God, there's no stopping at 3.9 miles because you're "tired"

ENDURANCE IS CONSISTENT
True endurance isn't your haphazard, weekend warrior. True endurance keeps at it daily in some capacity, whether keeping up with every type of workout needed (maintenance, speed, strength, etc) or careful mind to your nutrition or making sure you get adequate rest!

As a runner, I think endurance is a way of life. Obviously, endurance can apply to many sports, not just running.

Hope you've enjoyed and hopefully even gotten something out of my blog. All original content my brain cooked up during today's run and lunge walk + squat workout.

Image source 1: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-i-like-hire-endurance-athletes-sales-roles-luke-davies
Image source 2: open stock photo art by Stuart Miles