It's almost time for my next half marathon. So, this week is all about getting race ready. Even if you're not preparing for a race, it's always good to prepare yourself for success. Getting fit and losing weight is as much about training your brain as it is about training your body. You have to get out of your head sometimes to reach your goals.
For me, running was something I did in the past. I was on the cross country and track teams in high school. But, high school was a long time ago. As an adult, I exercised, but I very rarely ran. Running just wasn't fun to me anymore. I remember running in high school and we'd cover 6-8 miles a day, 5 days a week. Then, I'd try to get in another run or two on the weekends on my own. I remember running without any music and just using that time to think and clear my head. Sometimes I'd work on ideas for an essay for my English class, or think through a problem I was having with my friends. Either way, running was a stress reliever and a fun thing to do.
Fast forward to adult-hood, and that is no longer the case. I need music to run now. Running without music is pure torture. Running was never something I wanted to get back into doing really. I simply started running to prove to myself that I could do it. When I was fat, I COULDN'T run. I just wasn't physically capable of doing it. Then, when I lost the weight, I still THOUGHT I couldn't run. And, I let myself believe it. I remember telling my husband that I was going for a run. I stepped out of the house and made it less than a block down the street before I gave up. I couldn't do it. I couldn't breathe. My legs felt like jelly. My knees hurt. My back hurt. My feet hurt. What had I done? This was a little over a year ago. Here I was this woman who'd lost all this weight, but I couldn't run a block. Talk about a feeling of defeat.
But, after all I'd been through, I wasn't going to let running get in my way of conquering my goals. So, I set out with a goal to run a mile. I went for a run every chance I got. I had to walk/run a lot. I had to train. But, soon I was able to run a mile. Ok, goal one done. Next, let's try running 3 miles. And so I did. I had to work a lot on breath control. I finally got it in my head that my body was capable. But, I had to convince my lungs of the same thing. I practiced rhythmically breathing. I practiced really concentrating on every single breath. And, I practiced keeping my excitement to a minimum. I noticed that every time I reached a new mileage goal, I'd get so excited that I'd start to hyperventilate. So, I had to work on getting my excitement under control so my breathing would also be controlled.
Once I had 3 miles down, I decided to tackle the half marathon. Crazy right? Of course it was. But, if you don't set your goals high, you will never know what you're capable of doing. I completed my first half marathon in October 2014. And, I immediately set out to find another one to do. There's just such a rush from completing a race that you never could have done just a short time ago.
My next half marathon is this weekend. I'm excited but also nervous. I'm by no means a fast runner. But, being fast isn't really my goal. I'm simply competing with my old self, I'm not competing with any other runners. I just want to do better than my old self would have done. And, if I can shave a few minutes off of my previous time, that would be great too.
My point is that you can do anything you set out to do. You just have to get out of your head, believe in yourself, and get to work. What goals will you set for yourself in the coming months that previously seemed impossible? I'd love to read your comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment