CONGRATULATIONS Brooklyn Half Marathoners!!!

Brooklyn Half Marathoners,

YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

You did the work. You weathered the storms. You showed up to the start line knowing nothing is guaranteed—a brave and daring thing—and you threw yourself in headfirst. You didn’t have to do any of this, and you did. We couldn’t be prouder.

For some of you, this race was your focus all season. For others, this was a mid-season check-in. No matter your circumstance, give yourself FULL CREDIT. Every race is special, and learning experience and worthy of celebration.

For those of you who ran a PR: Celebrate hard. You must! You ran the fastest race of your LIFE. That’s absurd! We know so many of you are already thinking about the next one, but live in this race a little longer. Your race and your season and YOU deserve to be celebrated. You’ve earned it.

For those of you who completed your first Half Marathon: Celebrate hard. You must! You made a bold leap without a net and you did it. Yesterday morning you weren’t a marathoner, and now you are. You learned so much over those 13.1 miles. Soak it in. Write it down. Take a million photos. You deserve to linger in this.

For those of you who struggled and rallied when you could have thrown in the towel, and for those who had to make the hard decision to delay your Half Marathon: Celebrate hard. You must! Give yourself so much credit for all the physical and emotional work that went into this training cycle. The PRs are joyous things, but these are the moments that transform the runner: the delayed gratification; the quiet, internal struggle; the hard, wise decisions made in the face of social pressure.

Celebrate yourself. Celebrate all the wins within this one marathon, and within this one training season, because there are many. Do it now, and do it seriously. You learned something important over these weeks, and it would be a shame to deny it. On a kinder day, when everything’s going to plan, you will remember what it felt like to push against your own limitations, and you’ll use that strength again, this time with wings.

For everyone: if you haven’t yet, take some quiet time and write down all your thoughts on the race. How did it feel on the start line? In the first 10k, the next 5k, and the final 6k? Where were your most memorable moments? Where were the peaks? The valleys? How long did the tough patches last? What got you through?

Look at your mile and/or kilometer splits—do these reflect how you felt? If your heart rate was recorded, where did it start to climb toward your max? For what are you proud of yourself? Where could you have been a little more on-point in your strategy? Were you good about gels and fluids? Could any rough spots in your race be related to gels or fluids? What would you do differently? What would you do exactly the same?

Let the writing be a landslide. Free-write on everything. Pour it out. Late in a marathon, you’re too exhausted for pretense, and some hard and beautiful truths can emerge. Put in on the page, because no matter how clear they seem now, those memories will fade if you don’t preserve them.

If this is the end of your season, take a break! Maybe no running. Maybe a 10-20 minute run this week just to prance around and stretch the legs—but don’t feel obligated! Eat, sleep, splurge on a massage or do a good rolling and/or yoga session. Most importantly, take a mental and an emotional break. You’ve been so focused. You’ve worked so hard. It’s been an incredible time, but you’re depleted. Unlace the shoes, sleep in, and let yourself unwind. Call you friends who don’t run (yet ;-) )and remind them you’re alive.

If this is the middle of your season, and you have other races coming up, take this next week a little easier than usual. Maybe you’ll run one fewer day than usual, maybe your easy runs will be a little easier, or maybe you’ll leave your watch at home and run entirely on feel for a feqw days.

After a mid-season race I typically have my athletes move their speed run to later in the week—maybe Thursday if they typically run Speed on Tuesdays—just to give them a little extra time to recover from the demands of the race. Then, if they’re still dragging come Thursday, consider swapping out the workout for an easy run and some strides. There’s no use digging yourself into an energy hole! You’ve got more races to run.

Again (and again and again), you should be SO PROUD!!!