Your Running Journey Will Never Be Perfect—and That’s Okay

by Ebony Davis

In July of 2018, during the heart of a blazing summer, I had recently returned to the gym and was thinking of ways to usher in my 29th birthday. The idea came to me: “I CAN run a half marathon.”

At just about six months away, the 2019 Miami Half Marathon seemed like the perfect thing in the perfect city to celebrate life and help me achieve my weight loss goals.

A half marathon is no small feat, though.

At 13.1 miles, it typically takes weeks (if not months) of training and preparation to prepare. However, I knew that I had a decent amount of time to train and was seriously amped about this new challenge.

As the months went by, I continued to strength train and began to incorporate more cardio into my daily workouts. My training was brought to a painful and abrupt halt, however, when I sustained a minor knee injury.

I knew I needed rest to recover, so I opted to take a few weeks off. Soon, the days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Before I knew it, I was celebrating New Year’s Day. I now had less than four weeks to somewhat prepare for this race. On top of that, I was hesitant to push myself for fear of re-injury. I was feeling discouraged and demotivated, so I began to search for answers on the Internet.

Related Story: Running Through Mental Barriers

One quick search and I learned that even with all of my fears, that it could be done. (Yay!) Google informed me that all I need to do was ‘stay positive, enjoy the race, and don’t count the miles’. Yet, for every article that told me I could do it, there were two more that told me I couldn’t. I started to feel like a fool who had set herself up for a disaster.

But it was too late to turn back. Registration for the race was completed and all that was left to do was prepare. I put together a cute running outfit and purchased official running shoes for the big day.

Staying Positive for Race Day

Ebony celebrates at the Miami Half Marathon.

When race day arrived and I was in Miami, all I could do was soak it all in. The scenery was amazing. Watching the sunrise was incredible and the level of mutual excitement amongst runners, combined with the anticipation of the miles ahead was unmatched.

It took about two miles to get warm and around mile four I REALLY began hitting my stride. Once I got to mile eight, however, doubt and fear began to creep in.

“Can I do this?” “Was I crazy to set out a goal like this?” “Was this too ambitious?” “Who am I to think I could do this?”

All these negative thoughts were running through my head and, at that moment, I had to make a choice. Would I succumb to the negative thoughts and limiting beliefs that were circulating in my mind? Or could I push through?

I chose to pause and embrace gratitude right where I was: the amazing people I was surrounded by, the feat that we had consciously decided to take on, the beauty and therapy in running, and my ability to push myself outside of my comfort zone. I remembered my first (impromptu) 10K that I ran with RUNGRL co-founders Dominique and Jasmine and their advice of “You CAN do this!” and “You are strong!”, which gave me the energy I needed to push through.

Related Story: How NOT to Run a Half Marathon

Despite the aching in my body, the swelling in my hands, and the scary thought that I still had two and a half miles to go, I told myself to stay in the moment.

Three and a half hours after I started, I crossed the finish line. I had accomplished my first half marathon, and without properly training! (Don’t try this at home, kids.)

Of course, it was hard and there were many moments of doubt, but completing this half marathon affirmed to me that I can do hard things; that the pain is only temporary. And it doesn’t have to be perfect.

It’s the impact and experience of finishing the race that will last a lifetime...Only next time, I will be training!

Follow Ebony’s running journey on Instagram.