Surprise, surprise.
The girl who once swore she’d never run more than a mile in her life is officially training for her second half marathon. If 22-year-old Allie could see me now, she wouldn’t believe it.
My first half marathon was an incredible experience—truly life-changing. I couldn’t even list all the ways I grew through that training cycle. But here’s the biggest lesson I learned: my body could do it.
At the beginning, I was convinced I’d doubt my physical ability every single step of the way. But that wasn’t the case at all. The real challenge? My mind.
The Mental Battle
Almost every training run turned into a mental game. Honestly, I would get bored. What’s an extroverted girl supposed to do for an hour and a half while running alone?
If I quit a run early, it wasn’t because my legs couldn’t handle it—it was because my brain couldn’t. Boredom + physical exhaustion = the perfect recipe to quit.
I became so frustrated because I knew I could do it… and yet I couldn’t convince myself to keep going.
Eventually, I had this realization:
Training isn’t just for your body—it’s for your mind.
Sure, there’s a chance my body might want to quit on race day, but my mind might want to quit just as badly. If I didn’t practice pushing through during training, how could I expect myself to push through on race day?
That mindset is what carried me across the finish line on June 7. And as soon as I crossed, I knew: I want to do this again.
The Burnout
But then… reality check. Cue the next two months of the worst burnout I’ve ever experienced.
Even though my race was amazing, I couldn’t bring myself to run more than two miles at a time. Honestly, in July I think I ran less than five times. Running became the last thing I wanted to do—which doesn’t make sense, but that’s where I was.
Round 2
Now here we are. My next half marathon is in November, and training started a week ago. If I’m being completely honest? My head is still in that burnout space.
But here’s why I’m showing up:
I was my absolute favorite version of myself during my last training cycle. And the version of me I want to be now? She would push through this burnout and do it again.
I know my body can do this—I’ve proved that already. But my brain? That’s still the biggest hurdle heading into this block.
My Goals for This Training Cycle
1. Give myself grace.
2. Trust the process.
Sure, I’d love to beat my time from June, but honestly, this isn’t just about another race. It’s about becoming a fuller, stronger version of myself.
A Question for You
What’s one thing you’re doing right now that makes you a better version of yourself?
For me, it’s running. I think everyone could benefit from learning to run—it changed my life. But maybe for you, it’s something else.
If the best version of yourself could coach you right now, what would they say?
“Pick up that hobby that makes you feel alive?”
“Call that friend who pushes you to grow?”
“Volunteer and pour yourself into something bigger?”
It doesn’t have to be a huge change like signing up for a race. But I truly believe the small choices we make every day are what level us up into the people we’re meant to become.
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