Ham sandwich training
I was 28 years old. Young, vibrant. I had trained for the last 6 months and was running my first marathon. I had all the gear. Cute skirt, all the special foods, the water belt. I was on top of the world. The most fit I had ever been.
The nature of this particular marathon was that you got to tour a lot of the most beloved spots of downtown Tulsa and Route 66. You start downtown, you leave, then you come back downtown again. Yay! This is still fun!
At some point around mile 18, we left downtown for the second time. Not only did we leave, we had to run all the way to the University of Tulsa. A gorgeous campus, that at that particular moment felt 900 miles away.
I was exhausted, tired, and hit the wall. I had also told everyone I knew and their neighbor that I was running this marathon. So there was no way that I could give up. All running really stopped at that point, and I started walking ‘with a purpose.’
One mile goes by. A second mile. My energy does not return. I get to the University of Tulsa. Did I see the beauty? Heck no. I was too busy doing math in my head. Would I complete this race before they closed it down? Was I good enough?
Around mile 20, here I am, trudging up a hill. This man, 70 years old if he was anything, breezed right past me. My thoughts turned worse “you are 28 and you can’t keep up with someone with over 40 years on you.”
He gets to the top of the hill, and a woman walks onto the road. She yells, “Hi honey! I made you a ham sandwich!” He says, “Thank you!” They kiss, and he keeps going.
He grabs the sandwich and takes a big ole bite. At that point, I lost site of him. He and his ham sandwich, left me in the dust.
I was shocked! Here I am, speciality foods, barely able to move forward. Here he is, ham sandwich in hand, having a grand ole time. Beating ME!
And that’s when I realized the ham sandwich, the view, and the interaction with his partner, was way more important than finishing the race. While he will, and did, finish the race before me, he got something more special, he really got to enjoy the moment while he worked towards his summit.
As any wall happens, I got to mile 22, and pushed through. Just a measly four miles left. I was now heading back downtown, and I had my family waiting at the end to watch me finish. Once again, I was on top of the world. The road was beautiful, the sites were glorious, and that finish line felt incredibly good.
So, what type of person are you? Will you take the ham sandwich and explore the world around you? Or will you keep trying to do everything just-so, and miss the journey along the way?
Ready to work on your summit? Let’s connect.