Finding presence in the long run of life.
If you’d rather watch this reflection, you’ll find the video link at the end of this post.
Last weekend, Emily and I were in Chicago — and it just happened to be marathon weekend. It brought back a flood of memories for me.
Seventeen years ago, I ran my first Chicago Marathon. Over the years that followed, I was fortunate to run it seven more times. What came back to me most vividly wasn’t the race itself — it was the training.
The early morning runs in the dark with a headlamp. The long miles in every kind of weather. The focus on eating right, getting enough sleep, and sticking to a plan when motivation was low.
None of it was glamorous. But all of it mattered.
Because the real work of a marathon doesn’t happen on race day — it happens in the hundreds of quiet miles leading up to it. Those are what I call the treadmill days.
The same is true in recovery, and really, in life. The daily work of showing up, staying consistent, and doing the small things when no one’s watching — that’s what makes transformation possible.
I remember one solo long run years ago when something clicked for me. I had been stressing over the pace of my previous miles — frustrated that I hadn’t run them faster — and already worrying about how that might affect the miles ahead and my overall time for the run.
Somewhere in the middle of that long stretch, my mind finally quieted enough to notice what was happening. I realized that all of that mental noise — replaying what was behind me and projecting what was ahead — was keeping me from actually being in the run.
That’s when it hit me: the most important mile isn’t the one ahead or the one behind — it’s the one I’m in. Because the truth is, the only mile I can actually enjoy and do anything about is the current one.
It’s so easy to focus on the end — the finish line, the completion — and completely lose sight of the moment I’m in. But that moment, right there under my feet, is where life is actually happening.
The most important mile is always the one I’m in. 🌱
🎥 Watch This Reflection
If you’d prefer to watch instead of read, here’s the video version:
