Keep Your Promise to Yourself

The first time I ran Umstead 100, I dropped.

I was still new to the distance. It would have been my sixth 100 and it also should have been an easy one: a flat-ish five or six loops on gravel road with fantastic aid, in gorgeous, springtime North Carolina.

I just didn’t want to do the last lap or two.

I was done (so I said).

No big deal, because I dropped at Leadville two 100’s earlier.

Looking around at everyone else in this new world of 100s, DNFs seemed normal. Everybody talked about theirs. Finishes were the exception - you had to work really hard for those.

But the aftermath of dropping wasn’t as casual as it seemed.

Like I did at Leadville, I thought I needed to quit…but could have run further. I didn’t want to admit it but I’d taken the easy way out.

It seemed from my peers like that shouldn’t matter, like I could “afford” to drop every so often. But it did matter - big time.

I didn’t quit the race - I quit myself.

Three years later, I tried it again and like Leadville, I dropped the second time in the same place for essentially the same reason.

I expected to quit the same way when things got hard so I did, even though I swore to everyone I was going to finish.

I didn’t keep my word to myself or show up like I knew I could.

That’s how I saw myself back then.

Another three years passed as I figured out why I was dropping and how to solve this 100-mile thing, so I tried Umstead again.

This time, I knew what was on the line wasn’t a finish - it was the promise to myself that I was going to show up 100% and follow through.

Standing at the starting line meant I had another chance to keep that promise like it was holy…or break it like it didn’t matter.

And like Leadville after some mindset work, the third time was the charm.

Think about runners you admire. They probably keep their promises to themselves, even when it’s hard.

You can too.

Here are three easy ways to do it:

First, expect to be tempted to break that promise. Make your decision ahead of time and be ready.

Second, know the real decision is between how it will feel long term to keep it or break it. Which do you want to live with?

Third, track when you keep your promise in long runs and races. Watch them accumulate into a natural habit.

And one last thing - you signed up to run a race. You committed to yourself to do it.

Sure, keep that promise because you want to finish…but keep it more because you want to build trust in yourself, have integrity with yourself, and confirm you matter.

However the race turns out.

That’s where confidence comes from. When you have that kind of relationship with yourself, you can take on any challenge.

I’m proof it’s possible for everyone…and it’s worth it.

If you want to create this relationship with yourself, I can help and I have an opening for a new client.

Use this link to set up a free conference call and let’s talk.

Your future self is 100% worth it.