Lesson #5: The race often begins when you have hit your physical limit. This is when you learn to run with your heart. 

Lesson #7: Define your success based on your effort rather than your finishing time or mileage.

Exhausted and happy to be at the finish line. Photo by Michelle Evans.

Lesson #8: Your first DNF will be painful, but you will survive. And, probably learn some very important lessons from it.

For many of us, the sting of the first D.N.F. in a race is particularly painful. We all know it is bound to happen sooner or later, yet somehow, when it actually happens, it's hard to not feel crushed and defeated. It took me a shockingly long amount of time to understand that I was the single limiting factor in moving on from the negative aspects of the experience and moving towards growth and understanding. Yeah, a DNF sucks but at the end of the day, it's really not that big of a deal. Beginners DNF. Middle-of-the-packers DNF. Pros DNF. It happens to almost anyone, unless your name is Kilian Jornet. 

As athletes, it is inevitable that we will go through periods of injury and set-back. Even though it may be challenging to find the lessons in difficult or disappointing situations, there is always a choice. Sometimes the lessons are big and hurt and sting and take weeks to fully process or understand. Sometimes the lessons are small and feel better after a few days of healing and a little bit of Neosporin. Either way, there is value to each experience.

Here is a reality: Ten miles is far. Fifty miles is far. Two hundred miles is really far. The first mile you've ran after a long break from running (or never having ran before) is really, really far. Too many runners (myself included) tend to make racing into an all-or-nothing gamble: you either win or you lose, there is no grey area. This is unfortunate because at the end of the day, simply being able to run is a gift and we should never take that for granted. All of the training you put in for a race where you DNF-ed can be channeled into another race in the future. Training and racing is like building a house from the ground up, rather than building castles in the sky. We need not shoot down our progress simply because we didn't achieve one of our goals.

Another important thing to remember: There will always be more races. New goals. Bigger sights and bigger mountains. Accept that fact and the fear of failing becomes much less disheartening. Failing becomes a part of the process. Failing paves the road to your future victories.