After a long hiatus from running, I’ve decided to start training again. I’ve always enjoyed the activity but dreaded the “real” or the middle miles. This segment of running is a psychological battleground and test of grit. The crowds, balloons, and adrenaline have long faded from your starting line; and you are not in the final stretch yet. You can’t draw from the motivation that supporters apply at the beginning and end of the journey – it’s just you.
Many stretches of life align with the middle miles – mentally, physically, and spiritually. It’s where our true character is built. Our minds drift to our past mistakes, promises, and dreams. You develop a mass of well-justified reasons to slow your pace, to take an easier path (to try a new sport).
I find myself in the middle miles of some life goals and drawing strength from life lessons:
- Remembering why I started. I’ve always found the why to be more important than the how.
- Controlling the controllable. there will always be headwinds and unforeseen hurdles to clear. Focus on what I can control or influence; accept the rest.
- Enjoy the journey – I have leaned that no journey is perfect and these trials prepared me for the mile marker. Even the toughest climbs make great stories once you clear some distance.
- Pace yourself – there is a time to open up my stride and times to temper cadence. Energy is finite, burnout is real, life is tough, we control our responses.
There will be plenty to celebrate when the goal is reached, but supporters are there to support – not carry.
“I am the master of my fate: / I am the captain of my soul…”
Journal of a Jedi 
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