Run Your Race

Subtitle: Lessons from Mile 9½ of My First Half Marathon

Boom! I hit the wall.
July 28th, 2024—my first half marathon. I trained hard. Long runs, recovery days, strength training, hydration—all of it. I felt ready.

But around the 9½ mile mark, everything changed.
My legs turned to cement. My breath got shallow. I couldn’t regain the pace or strength I’d felt in those first nine miles. No amount of grit or positive self-talk could fix it.

I had hit the wall.

But the real issue? It happened at the very beginning.

I ran someone else’s pace.

Caught in the excitement of the crowd, I matched someone stride for stride—without knowing their plan, their conditioning, or their goals. They felt strong. So I followed.

By doing so, I abandoned my own race strategy.

That one decision—seemingly small—was the thing that caught up with me later.

This experience reminded me of something bigger than running:
We all have our own journey.
Different goals. Different timelines. Different capacities.

You can’t run someone else’s race and expect to reach your own finish line.

That lesson now shows up in every part of my life. In business. In relationships. In wellness. I’ve learned to:

• Trust my own pace
• Respect my preparation
• Focus on my finish line

So if you're pushing toward a goal, remember this:

Run. Your. Race.
Because your greatest victory comes not from keeping up—but from showing up authentically, mile after mile.