Confession: I don’t love running. Some… most days… I almost hate it. When I run, I am usually dragging my feet out the door. However, even when I say I am going to stop running, I keep doing it.
For most of my life, running equaled failure to me. Every time I ran a mile in gym class, I always came in last. I eventually stopped caring and would just walk it. I excelled at other things, and I determined I just wasn’t a runner. That became my mindset. When I saw people running, I would think “I want to do that” and then quickly remind myself that I was not a runner.
About ten years ago, I was in Walt Disney World with friends, and it was the day after the Walt Disney World Marathon. I saw people of all athletic abilities, ages, and shapes and sizes walking around with finisher medals. My only thought was “if they can do it, why I can’t I?” At that moment, my mindset began to shift from “I’m not a runner” to “I can be a runner if I really want to be.”
After that trip, I did not go home and buy running shoes. To be honest, my focus was on finishing law school (I had one and a half years left) and then it was passing the bar and then it was finding an attorney job. The excuses piled up, but I never stopped thinking “I can be a runner if I really want to be.”
Following years of excuses, I finally made the decision I was going to run my first 5K. I started a Couch to 5K program on my phone and got moving. I did a couple local 5Ks, and in November 2014, I traveled to Walt Disney World to run the Jingle Jungle 5K through Animal Kingdom.
After that 5K, I was hooked on running. I did not love it, but I still wanted to keep doing it. That runner’s high was real, the bling was awesome, and despite the pain and exhaustion involved, I still finished every race wanting to do more, and after only a few 5Ks, I set a goal to finish a half marathon.
A few months after that first Disney 5K, I signed up for the Disneyland Half Marathon in September 2015, and shortly after that, I signed up for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon in November 2015. My mindset had completely shifted from “I am not a runner” to “I can be a runner if I really want to be” to “I am a 5K runner” to “two half marathons? Let’s do it!”
Every finisher medal I have received is a constant reminder that no matter how difficult something may seem, anything is possible. You just have to have the determination, the motivation, the drive, and the proper tools/methods to get there.
I have learned to stop saying I can’t do something. Running has taught me that if I really want to do something, I can do it. I may choose not to do something, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do it if I really wanted to do it. I only needed to put in the work to get here. The sky really is the limit. Don’t hold yourself back with the mindset that you can’t do something. Believe me, you can.
I sometimes think back to my younger self. After she struggled to finish “running” one mile, would she believe me if I went back in time to tell her that one day she would run 13 miles? Probably not. She would probably think I was mental. However, that girl who believed she was not a runner and never would be is now that girl who has ran in countless 5Ks, several 10Ks, and five half marathons. She just had to believe that she could.
“If you can dream it, you can do it.” - Walt Disney
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