My Ah-ha Moment
This blog post should come as no surprise to anyone who follows my social media pages. I'm pretty transparent. I post about my Punkins, I post about my workouts, and yes, I post about my achievements. Now, I don't post all these things to brag. I post these things because, well, it's my life. My Punkins are my greatest achievement. I mean, I DID have their fathers which led to them being born, so Yes, I'm taking some credit! I post about my workouts because, well, that's what I do every day. And I post about my achievements because, quite honestly, sometimes I need to put these things on paper (ok, computer) to believe them myself.
So after yesterday's 10 Miler, I had some time in the afternoon to sit and think while I was stretching, doing some yoga poses, and using my foam roller to work out some stiff, sore spots. I got to thinking back over the past 18 months that led me to that event. 18 short months ago, I was a couch potato. I did go to yoga, but that was about it. You all know the story, so I won't bore you with that again, but basically, I made some goals to get healthy, and it went from there. Fast forward to May of this year. I was challenged to do this 10 Miler, and thinking that I would walk a lot of it, but manage somehow to finish, I took the challenge on, and starting training. At this time, I was running 3 miles at a time, struggling with some wheezing when I ran, and wasn't quite sure how I would do this. I sought help with the wheezing and finally got the medication I needed, and started feeling much better when I ran. Every week I would run more, run a little better, and run a little faster. As recent as two weeks ago though, I had my doubts about completing 10 miles. But then two things happened....
The Ah-ha moment....
One week before the race, on my last training run, we ran only five miles. It was raining, and my running partner was battling a terrible allergy issue, so we decided five miles would be plenty. If I wasn't ready by now, a few miles would not make a difference. My usual running consists of 2.5ish miles solid running, some fast walking to get myself charged up to run more, and so forth. This particular day, I ran five miles with my only walking being through a very long dark train tunnel, twice, once each way. When we finished our five miles, I had such a moment, you can't believe it. I said "I'm ready!", and I meant it. I knew in my heart (and my legs) that I could, and I would, run this 10 miles, and that I would never doubt myself again.
The second part of this moment was a Facebook memory that popped up that day. One short year ago, I had posted that I was ecstatic over walking 3 miles with some running included, and at a 14.66 min/mile pace. ONE SHORT YEAR. 12 MONTHS. I needed no more proof. I had come such a long way, that I would not look back. I would just keep going forward!
That Ah-ha moment reached up and smacked me in the head. Don't ever doubt yourself again it said. And yesterday while running, when I saw the 9 mile marker and knew I had one short mile left, I just could not contain my smile. In the pictures taken when I crossed the finish line, I was smiling. I freaking did it is what I was saying in that smile!
I was also saying "I am Mimi, hear me roar"! I want my Punkins to know that if their Mimi can do something like this, there is no limit for them! They aren't 61. They have their whole lives in front of them. There is nothing stopping them. Yes, there are sometimes financial barriers, there are life moments that slow you down, and there are time constraints at times. But you know what? If you want it bad enough, you will find a way.
So, this "old lady" that started running at 60 (who does that???) has something to ask you...yes, you reading this. What do you want to achieve? What goals are you setting? How bad do you want it? Go find your Ah-ha moment. That moment when you stop doubting yourself, when you KNOW you are good enough, strong enough, and most of all, that you are WORTH it! Because I already know you are ALL of those things!
So after yesterday's 10 Miler, I had some time in the afternoon to sit and think while I was stretching, doing some yoga poses, and using my foam roller to work out some stiff, sore spots. I got to thinking back over the past 18 months that led me to that event. 18 short months ago, I was a couch potato. I did go to yoga, but that was about it. You all know the story, so I won't bore you with that again, but basically, I made some goals to get healthy, and it went from there. Fast forward to May of this year. I was challenged to do this 10 Miler, and thinking that I would walk a lot of it, but manage somehow to finish, I took the challenge on, and starting training. At this time, I was running 3 miles at a time, struggling with some wheezing when I ran, and wasn't quite sure how I would do this. I sought help with the wheezing and finally got the medication I needed, and started feeling much better when I ran. Every week I would run more, run a little better, and run a little faster. As recent as two weeks ago though, I had my doubts about completing 10 miles. But then two things happened....
The Ah-ha moment....
One week before the race, on my last training run, we ran only five miles. It was raining, and my running partner was battling a terrible allergy issue, so we decided five miles would be plenty. If I wasn't ready by now, a few miles would not make a difference. My usual running consists of 2.5ish miles solid running, some fast walking to get myself charged up to run more, and so forth. This particular day, I ran five miles with my only walking being through a very long dark train tunnel, twice, once each way. When we finished our five miles, I had such a moment, you can't believe it. I said "I'm ready!", and I meant it. I knew in my heart (and my legs) that I could, and I would, run this 10 miles, and that I would never doubt myself again.
The second part of this moment was a Facebook memory that popped up that day. One short year ago, I had posted that I was ecstatic over walking 3 miles with some running included, and at a 14.66 min/mile pace. ONE SHORT YEAR. 12 MONTHS. I needed no more proof. I had come such a long way, that I would not look back. I would just keep going forward!
That Ah-ha moment reached up and smacked me in the head. Don't ever doubt yourself again it said. And yesterday while running, when I saw the 9 mile marker and knew I had one short mile left, I just could not contain my smile. In the pictures taken when I crossed the finish line, I was smiling. I freaking did it is what I was saying in that smile!
I was also saying "I am Mimi, hear me roar"! I want my Punkins to know that if their Mimi can do something like this, there is no limit for them! They aren't 61. They have their whole lives in front of them. There is nothing stopping them. Yes, there are sometimes financial barriers, there are life moments that slow you down, and there are time constraints at times. But you know what? If you want it bad enough, you will find a way.
So, this "old lady" that started running at 60 (who does that???) has something to ask you...yes, you reading this. What do you want to achieve? What goals are you setting? How bad do you want it? Go find your Ah-ha moment. That moment when you stop doubting yourself, when you KNOW you are good enough, strong enough, and most of all, that you are WORTH it! Because I already know you are ALL of those things!
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