Going the Distance
Over the last 6 months I've been training for a half marathon and this weekend I'm finally running it. Oh my gosh.
The why of it all is hard to recount. Some friends did it last summer in Hawaii, I was (still am) engaged in my own battle of the bulge. And I needed to challenge myself, get out of my proverbial comfort zone and if I did it out of town I'd be making it part of trip. Which is just what I did.
Tomorrow I'm heading to Chicago with one of my oldest friends to run on Sunday in the 13.1 Marathon Chicago.
What started as me running in the cold, dying after a mile, and progressing to running 10 miles this past weekend. It's a major accomplishment for me and I must admit that I've surprised myself. There are other things that I've done in the past that I haven't followed through on the way that I said, this blog included, and so I'm amazed that I've come this far.
Through all this I found it was not about physical limitations but mental ones. Sure there were sore shins and shoulders along the way, but it came down to my mental muscle. Did I have what it took to do this? To stick to a regimen and be disciplined. Sometimes is was a very loud NO. But overall there was a lot of yes.
And I learned that if I took my time and don't focus on what everyone is doing that I'd find my own way towards my goal. I think it's a lesson for running a race and for life.
this song helps too:
The why of it all is hard to recount. Some friends did it last summer in Hawaii, I was (still am) engaged in my own battle of the bulge. And I needed to challenge myself, get out of my proverbial comfort zone and if I did it out of town I'd be making it part of trip. Which is just what I did.
Tomorrow I'm heading to Chicago with one of my oldest friends to run on Sunday in the 13.1 Marathon Chicago.
What started as me running in the cold, dying after a mile, and progressing to running 10 miles this past weekend. It's a major accomplishment for me and I must admit that I've surprised myself. There are other things that I've done in the past that I haven't followed through on the way that I said, this blog included, and so I'm amazed that I've come this far.
Through all this I found it was not about physical limitations but mental ones. Sure there were sore shins and shoulders along the way, but it came down to my mental muscle. Did I have what it took to do this? To stick to a regimen and be disciplined. Sometimes is was a very loud NO. But overall there was a lot of yes.
And I learned that if I took my time and don't focus on what everyone is doing that I'd find my own way towards my goal. I think it's a lesson for running a race and for life.
this song helps too:
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