Readjusting Expectations

readjusting expectations

When I signed up for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon back in June, I was excited. It had been three and a half years since I ran my last, and first, marathon. My goal was to set a personal best, and try to shave about five minutes off my last time. But after dealing with a foot injury that also sidelined me for a few weeks during my training, I’m now readjusting expectations.

Learning from Past Mistakes

I struggled to run on my injured foot for several weeks because I didn’t want to stop running, fearing I’d lose momentum during training. I was dialling back into my younger self, when I was a lot more stubborn and nine times out of ten ran through the pain. Or I tried to until I couldn’t. With age comes wisdom (right?), and now I’m not willing to overdo it when a part of my body doesn’t feel right. I don’t want to risk making the injury worse and end up sidelined completely.

For most of my training, I’ve been engaged in a mind game. Determined not to give up. Determined not to let setbacks derail me. I was down but not out. That being said, a few people asked if I’d thought about skipping the marathon altogether. Despite the pain exploding mid-run, despite the pain lingering even after weeks of rest, quitting isn’t an option. Maybe it’s my stubbornness playing its hand again, but this is something that I have to finish. That’s why readjusting expectations will help me cross the finish line.