Learnings from my 1st Half Marathon

This morning I got up at about 6am and ran a half marathon (around 21km).

Not only had I never run one before, but the furthest I had previously run was 10km (just once) and that was only a few weeks ago.

I have ten lessons I'd like to share from my experience today that I hope you will find useful if you apply them to areas of your own life.

In no particular order:

1- I didn't need 'permission' to go for a goal

I just set out on my own and ran a half marathon distance. I have a cheap (but with more functions than I need) fitness watch that I bought on ebay. If I had waited to sign up for an official half marathon run, that would have taken a lot longer. This way I set out hoping I would keep going for a half marathon distance but I would have felt I achieved something if I had at least run further than 10km- I wouldn't have let anyone down but myself (though I am an admittedly hard taskmasker of myself sometimes!).

2- It doesn't matter that I'm terrible at something- I can still do something I'm proud of

I am properly terrible at running.

Let me say that again- properly terrible.

I remember once that someone said I ran like Mr Bean when I was growing up. I subsequently watched myself on a family video and I thought that description did a great disservice...

...to Mr Bean.

I have flat feet (despite treatment as a child) and still wear my trainers down at funny angles.

I am a very slow runner. I've never been quick. I remember when I played football if I got the ball past someone I'd have to do it more than once as they just caught up with me again.

What I do have is quite a bit of stubbornness- and- within reason- I don't mind looking like an idiot.

So, while my half marathon time was terrible, that didn't matter to me. I could still complete it and be very proud of myself.

3- Being up early can be a special experience

I wanted to run early for a variety of reasons. It was good to not have lots of people about so I didn't have to worry about keeping out of their way. It was nice to run before it got too hot too.

However, I hadn't banked on how amazing it would be. Where I live in Sheffield, there is so much greenery and for the majority of my run I was passing through a wooded area. Perhaps only 20 minutes into the run there was no-one else around and a deer suddenly burst across the path not that far ahead of me! It headed down the slope to my right and after a while I saw it crossing the River Don. I've never experienced something like that.

4- Tech is a massive help, but not infallible

I'm very motivated by tracking metrics so having the watch to guide me was so helpful.

However, for a tiny bit when I set off the watch thought I was travelling at 220kph!

5- Investing in yourself even a tiny bit can go a long way

Today, for the first time, I was wearing some cheap kit- literally the cheapest possible, that I had bought specifically for running. I had never bought anything specifically for running before and it made a real difference.

6- With physical effort, the mental side really matters too

There were quite a lot of points when I didn't think I was going to get to half marathon distance. At 10km I was feeling happy- but for some reason at around 11km I remember thinking I wasn't going to do it. At around 18km I really thought it was game over.

There were so many things that got in my head about why I shouldn't or wouldn't finish, things like:

• It was an arbitrary deadline that no-one even knew I had set myself. No-one but me would be disappointed that I hadn't achieved it.
• While I wanted to put in a lot of effort, I didn't want to really hurt myself if I was pushing myself too much. Everything I've ever heard about running is that you are supposed to build up the distances. Even doing my second ever 10km would have been something to be proud of. Why risk it?
• There were lots of little things that bothered me. I felt I was developing a blister. My right leg ached, both legs were stiff.

Ranged against that were all sorts of reasons why I wanted to do it:

• I knew I would be proud if I achieved it.
• I knew that if I got close but didn't do it, I would have to go through it all again, as once in my life I wanted to run a half-marathon distance (I don't mind if I never do a marathon). I also knew that while I would be proud to tell people I completed a half marathon distance, I would be a lot less proud to tell them I got to 20km, even though that is only a little less. Half marathon just sounds cooler.

7- Use it before you lose it

It isn't like running a half marathon is likely to be easier for me in the future than now.

I might be a rubbish runner now, but unless I put in serious time to improve (which I probably don't want to) or I can hire some bionic legs in the future, I'm probably only going to find it harder another time when I'm older.

8- You can create your own adventure

I could have woken up and had a normal Saturday or I could do what I did and have a self-directed adventure.

9- Some of the best things in life are free

I am truly blessed to live in a place where I can get out into nature so easily.

I feel I am decent at regularly being grateful for my life, but I could be even better at it.

10- Attempting something puts the achievements of others in context

When I try something myself, no matter how badly, it gives me new insights into how amazing other human beings are. For example, I wouldn't see Ronnie O'Sullivan, one of my favourites, as quite the genius I do if I had never tried playing snooker on a full size table. After my run, I looked up the world record times for the half marathon- they were predictably ridiculous.

Of course, these don't have to be feats of physical brilliance, it can be anything. Being a coach myself and working to be a better one allows me to see just how good the coaches I most look up to are, for example.

Have you noticed some of these lessons yourself?

How can you apply them to your own life?

Alex Swallow is a coach, The Influence Expert and author of 'How To Become An Influencer'. A free copy of the book and many tips about growing your influence can be found at?www.theinfluenceexpert.com . You can join his online course, 'How To Network' free?here . You can also see his viral LinkedIn post '100 LinkedIn Articles- Key Lessons'?here .