
I Hate Running (fake news)
Up until about 8 weeks ago my only run involved going from my house to Starbucks (BTW it’s about 2 blocks and I did not enjoy any part of that- aside from the Starbucks). I hadn’t run seriously since college- my last memory of running involved a yellow Sony Sports Walkman and a mixed tape of college style angst/ dance party. (ie. Alanis Morisette/ Ace of Base) .
Then a few truly awesome women asked me to participate in their run group as they trained for….a half marathon. Um- thank you, but no thank you. That was my initial response, but I did notice that part of me knew this would be a great challenge and if it didn’t happen now with this amazing group- it never would. I also am a big believer that it’s important to do things we absolutely do NOT want to do. This clearly fell into that category. I said ‘yes’ and signed up. I started running. I bought a real pair of running shoes and a fitbit. I realized that A LOT has changed since the days of the Sony Sports.
Then I realized that the ‘I hate running’ thing was just my story about running. I believed it so much that I was making it true. It turned out to be fake news. I started to enjoy pushing my body in a new way and connecting with the other women in the group as we all increased our miles together. (Up to 9 miles today!)
Then I realized that my ‘story’ wasn’t even a story- it was an excuse. Bottom line: running doesn’t come naturally to me, it feels too hard and I don’t want to fail. As we get closer to our race I’m getting nervous. I heard a great idea on a podcast referencing the man who holds the record for doing the most double Ironmans: ‘I stopped listening to myself and starting talking to myself.’ Makes sense. If I’m just listening to my fears and excuses- I’ll never run beyond the 2 blocks to Starbucks. If I start talking to myself about all the reasons I’m proud of myself, how much progress and preparation I’ve made and that I CAN do it- I know I’ve got this.
