Legs Miserables: Finding Motivation in the Unexpected

We all go through ups and downs; sometimes we are super energized, and the future looks bright, but there are also times when we lack energy, the future doesn’t seem promising, and we have no motivation to do anything.

It so happened that at the end of September, I was not going through a great period, and although I couldn’t say I had many problems on my mind, I definitely had no energy and felt no inclination to do anything.

I was going to training more out of routine, and my times weren’t great either — I could say I was just moving forward out of inertia.

Recently, I spoke with the coach at the running club I attend about admitting a coworker who is passionate about running. I must admit that ever since she joined, I’ve noticed how motivated and happy she is to run with the club, and in a way, it has started to motivate me as well.

Since the Bucharest International Marathon was coming up in mid-October, I came up with the idea of organizing a relay team with runners from the office. Since there were already two of us, we just needed to find two more runners to form a team of four.

I took advantage of the fact that I’d been with the company for a long time and knew a lot of people, even just by sight, and I already knew two runners who were better than me. I decided to try convincing them, although I didn’t expect it to be easy, as one of them was already running 21k+ and the other had shifted to short races due to repeated injuries. Despite these challenges, I reached out to them.

As expected, our colleague was preparing for the marathon, so convincing him to join the relay wasn’t an easy task. We all agreed to assign him the longest leg, which was 12 km. All we needed was a name. It didn’t take long — our anchor leg runner suggested “Legs Miserables”, and we all immediately said yes.

Since I had trained all summer, I looked at the legs to see which was the fastest and opted for the third leg, aiming to achieve a personal best (PB) on the 10 km distance.

For smoother relay coordination, we used WhatsApp and the share location feature to see when the runner ahead of us was approaching so we could be ready.

I arrived at the relay point well in advance, which gave me plenty of time to warm up and prepare properly. The weather was very sunny, and the atmosphere was lively and full of energy. Next to me, another runner was waiting for his turn, dressed in a military uniform. From his conversations with his teammates, I figured out he was a French soldier. He started before me, but as soon as my turn came, my first goal was to catch up and overtake him.

To my surprise, the soldier was running quite well despite wearing boots and a full military uniform. It took me a couple of km to pass in front of him. After two kilometres, I realized I had overlooked the fact that the route I’d chosen included a noticeable downhill and uphill section. I quickly began to think that the third leg might not have been the best choice for achieving a personal best.

At the 5 km mark, there was a downhill section, and my plan was to run hard up to that point, then use the downhill to accelerate and maintain a very fast pace. To my surprise, despite the downhill stretch, I couldn’t speed up — I was already tired from starting too fast. However, as I reached the bottom of the hill, I got a pleasant surprise: my wife and daughter were standing by the roadside, cheering me on loudly. Suddenly, I felt a surge of energy. I managed to accelerate even faster than I had on the downhill section, and since I live in the area, I was familiar with the course and knew what lay ahead.

I pushed myself to keep a steady pace and finish strong with a good time.

Unfortunately, relay races often have imprecise measurements. According to the official data, I ran 10.5 km, but my watch recorded 10.3 km, making it hard to say whether I achieved a personal best or not. As someone told me once, a 10k personal best is achieved in an official 10k race.

Although I had expected to run much faster, seeing the final rankings gave me a huge morale boost. Suddenly, I felt a surge of energy, couldn’t stop smiling, and started seeing only the bright side of things.

In two weeks, I was set to run in Valencia, and after this race, I realized that if I could keep my mind clear and run relaxed, I would achieve a good time. But the most important takeaway was the positive energy and optimism I felt in everything during the days following the race. I was supercharged for my next race.

A small victory, even in a turbulent period, can be exactly what you need to keep moving forward!

Thank you, Legs Mizerables!

You can read about my Valencia Half Marathon here:

Valencia Half Marathon — 2024