The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to START...
~author unknown
This has been a big week and with the upcoming Bluenose Marathon it's about to become HUGE! The Learn to Run clinic ended this week with a guest speaker and run Mon. night and our final run on Wed. The topic was motivation, something that I had been struggling with lately and something I sorely needed with my first race just days away. The speaker was a woman in her late 50s and had been running for about 12 years, after a colleague of hers passed away suddenly from a massive heart attack. Her friend was about the same age & also overweight, and they both suffered from hypertension and high cholesterol. This event brought her face to face with her own mortality and was the catalyst she needed to make some big changes in her life. She described how she was in the same position that we are now. She was also an inexperienced runner who took the Learn to Run clinic, feeling anxious but determined. She started with a 5 km race and since then has completed 10 km, half-marathon, and 3 full marathons! I had goosebumps as she described this journey. She said that running completely changed her - her health, her attitude, even her outlook on life. Her talk gave me the inspiration I needed looking ahead to my own very first 5 km run.
This has been a big week and with the upcoming Bluenose Marathon it's about to become HUGE! The Learn to Run clinic ended this week with a guest speaker and run Mon. night and our final run on Wed. The topic was motivation, something that I had been struggling with lately and something I sorely needed with my first race just days away. The speaker was a woman in her late 50s and had been running for about 12 years, after a colleague of hers passed away suddenly from a massive heart attack. Her friend was about the same age & also overweight, and they both suffered from hypertension and high cholesterol. This event brought her face to face with her own mortality and was the catalyst she needed to make some big changes in her life. She described how she was in the same position that we are now. She was also an inexperienced runner who took the Learn to Run clinic, feeling anxious but determined. She started with a 5 km race and since then has completed 10 km, half-marathon, and 3 full marathons! I had goosebumps as she described this journey. She said that running completely changed her - her health, her attitude, even her outlook on life. Her talk gave me the inspiration I needed looking ahead to my own very first 5 km run.
But it was not just a time to look ahead. It was also a time to look back and celebrate just how far I had come. As the clinic ended I reflected back on the last ten weeks. Thirty runs, kilos of Epsom salts, the highs & the lows, the rain & the heat, ice pack after ice pack, the good runs & the bad, a bottle of Advil, sore shins, aching legs, tight calves, and lots of sweat. Thankfully, I had my family, friends, fellow runners and my running coaches for encouragement. From run 1 minute/walk 2 minutes to run 10 minutes/walk 1 minute!!!!! I cannot believe I progressed that far. Never, ever did I think it was possible for me to run. But the impossibility has become a reality. Not only have I learned to run, but more importantly I have learned more about myself, and the strength within. Bluenose 5 km...bring it on!!!
Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started...
~author unknown
Gotta go. I'm Running Late...Literally!
Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started...
~author unknown
Gotta go. I'm Running Late...Literally!
