Goals
I have never really considered myself a runner. Even though I ran cross country in high school - that was really more because my friends talked me into it than anything else. After I graduated from high school, it was 10 years before I ran again more than VERY sporadically.
In the summer of 2010, I decided to do a Couch to 5k in 9 weeks. And I did it, which was quite an accomplishment, since it meant running 3 times a week for those 9 weeks. But when I finished it, it was time for work mission, and when I came back, I no longer had a goal and a structure to my running so they went back to being sporadic.
Last year I went to Honduras, and I got motivated about some things that I hadn't been very motivated about for awhile - losing weight and running being among them. And I started to actually succeed - on both fronts. The running was still somewhat sporadic, but it was more consistent than it had been since high school, other than the couch to 5k. And my diet was better than it had been in a long time. Then at new years, I met a friend of a friend who is also a runner, and we became running buddies and run together when we can. That has made a big difference to running on a consistent basis - we even ran 6 miles together a couple weeks ago!
I remember getting ready to go for a run probably a month or so ago now, one that I was doing on my own, and I put on my warm running clothes, and I looked in the mirror, and I thought - I look like a runner.
I was thinking about this today because I went for a run on the treadmill where I can actually keep track of my speed and distance more accurately than when I run outside. And I am pretty close to where I was with regard to my speed when I graduated from high school. And that feels pretty good for being almost 30.
Has it always been easy? No. Definitely not. Even tonight it took all the motivation I could muster to get me to that treadmill and everything I had in me to keep up the speed I ran once I got there. But I did it.
So what goals do you have? If you really want them, if you commit to them and refuse to accept excuses, you can make them happen. Will you have set-backs? I certainly have. I have learned to accept those as part of the process and not count myself out because of them. I hope that you will do what it takes to achieve your goals and make your dreams a reality. Because it really is a pretty incredible feeling to have that come to life.
In the summer of 2010, I decided to do a Couch to 5k in 9 weeks. And I did it, which was quite an accomplishment, since it meant running 3 times a week for those 9 weeks. But when I finished it, it was time for work mission, and when I came back, I no longer had a goal and a structure to my running so they went back to being sporadic.
Last year I went to Honduras, and I got motivated about some things that I hadn't been very motivated about for awhile - losing weight and running being among them. And I started to actually succeed - on both fronts. The running was still somewhat sporadic, but it was more consistent than it had been since high school, other than the couch to 5k. And my diet was better than it had been in a long time. Then at new years, I met a friend of a friend who is also a runner, and we became running buddies and run together when we can. That has made a big difference to running on a consistent basis - we even ran 6 miles together a couple weeks ago!
I remember getting ready to go for a run probably a month or so ago now, one that I was doing on my own, and I put on my warm running clothes, and I looked in the mirror, and I thought - I look like a runner.
I was thinking about this today because I went for a run on the treadmill where I can actually keep track of my speed and distance more accurately than when I run outside. And I am pretty close to where I was with regard to my speed when I graduated from high school. And that feels pretty good for being almost 30.
Has it always been easy? No. Definitely not. Even tonight it took all the motivation I could muster to get me to that treadmill and everything I had in me to keep up the speed I ran once I got there. But I did it.
So what goals do you have? If you really want them, if you commit to them and refuse to accept excuses, you can make them happen. Will you have set-backs? I certainly have. I have learned to accept those as part of the process and not count myself out because of them. I hope that you will do what it takes to achieve your goals and make your dreams a reality. Because it really is a pretty incredible feeling to have that come to life.
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