Last January, I completed the Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World, 48.6 miles of races over four days ending with the WDW Marathon. It was awesome!

After the race, I continued running, but I also couldn’t ignore discomfort that became very real pain in my left Achilles tendon. (I had surgery on my right Achilles in 2020.) I visited my doctor who shut me down from running and began a rehab program to heal the pain (a small tear) in my Achilles. I stopped running in mid-to-late March. I didn’t run at all in April. And, until today, May 24, I hadn’t run in May.

A few days ago, since I was healing, I asked my doctor if I could run the Spring Lake Five Mile race, my favorite race each year not called the New York City Marathon. He said, “Yes.” I told the doctor that I’d probably run and walk it. I thought, “If I can do ten-minute-miles after not running for two months, that would be great.”

But, in my heart, I thought, “If I can average 12-minute-miles, and break one hour for the race, that would be amazing.”

My realistic expectation was to be a bit slower than even that.

Remember, I had not run, at all, since March.

I love the Spring Lake Five. This race kicks off Memorial Day Weekend at the New Jersey Shore. In a very real way, it kicks off summer. I’ve run this race annually (by and large) for more than the last 30 years.

When I was young, and (somewhat) fast, I used to start near the front of the race pack close to the elite runners. Knowing my current age and my physical conditioning, this year I started much more in the middle of the pack of more than 10,000 runners.

The race started. My goal was to run the first mile and then walk a bit. I kept a slow and even pace moving through the pack getting around the walkers and the slower runners. When I hit the first mile, I looked at my watch, 9:45, I was ahead of pace. I thought, “I wonder if I can keep this up. I haven’t run this far for months.” I determined to try to reach the second mile marker before walking.

My second mile clocked in at 9:28. I was faster! I didn’t know how. I was running farther and better than I ever imagined. I thought that breaking 50-minutes was now a realistic possibility, but I still had 60% of the race to go.

I then wondered if I could make it to three miles without stopping.

I did. I looked at my watch. My third mile was even quicker, 9:07. How was I doing this? By this point, I had now covered 60% of the race. I still hadn’t walked. I thought, I just might be able to do two more miles without stopping. I said to myself, “If I can just hang on a bit longer, I can actually break 50-minutes.” I didn’t know how I was doing it, but I was.

I reached Mile 4 with my quickest mile yet, 8:56. “I broke a 9-minute mile?” I thought. How? I knew I was determined, but I never expected to run a sub-nine-minute mile at this point.

I was now a mile from the finish line. I knew I’d break an hour. I also had about twelve and a half minutes to break 50 minutes. I was running better than I ever could have imagined or hoped. And I hadn’t walked, not even for one step, yet.

I determined to just reach the finish line without walking. I ran at a slow and steady pace, knowing each step brought me closer to the finish.

As the finish line slowly krept into view, I knew that I had well exceeded my goals. My final mile clocked in at an unheard of 8:34. How? But, why question success?

In my first race since Disney, more than five months previous, I clocked in at 46:15 for five miles. I ran at an overall 9:09 pace. The first time I ran for two months I pushed way beyond all reasonable boundaries. I didn’t walk. And I was faster, much faster than I ever could have imagined.

I was reminded, as I finished, that we are all capable of exceeding whatever limits we place on ourselves. We can always do more. It simply takes discipline and focus. And I do have both.

While I was not running, I was still exercising. I rode my exercise bike, often twice a day. I took walks, usually for about three miles. I lift weights a few times a week. And I play baseball. What I did not do while I was sidelined from running was sulk, flop in front of a television, and find excuses to be inactive.

Where there is a will, there is a way. The key is there has to be a will. When we set out to achieve, and we work with discipline towards a goal, we can get there.

Today I won the Spring Lake Five. (I actually finished in 3,036th place.) The actual placing matters little. Believe me, I won the race. Of that there is no question.

When we give it our best, we win.

And sometimes we exceed even our greatest expectations!