Lessons From Running That Have Nothing To Do With Running
This spring, I decided to shift my focus onto the physical pursuit of getting faster. Why? Simply because I wanted to. My desire to become quicker on my feet taught me several surprising and invaluable lessons that have nothing to do with running. Here’s what my quest for speed taught me.
1) You're never too old, too mom-like, too inexperienced, too behind, too unqualified, too short, too___ to do 'the thing.'
There appear to be a lot of unconscious beliefs and societal conditioning that have led many of us to believe that we have to fit into an ideal mold to achieve our goals. For me, I once remember thinking that my physical body would deteriorate after having a kid and turning 30. That was until I met women like Christy Marvin, Denali Strabel, and Gail Taylor who all are mothers AND continue to crush it in the Alaska mountain running scene. Their examples shattered my old beliefs about motherhood and age. I now believe we become more resilient and knowledgeable with each passing year. The wisdom we acquire through life experiences (like motherhood) can help to propel us forward and reach new limits. There also is no better time than NOW. Stop waiting to be someone else before you take the first step toward becoming who you want to be. You’re not too late. Desire is the only gear required to start any endeavor.
Once we have our desire, we must commit. This brings me to the second lesson that running taught me.
2) Running doesn't always feel good. But following through on our commitments to ourselves feels great.
I am not sure if the American poet Dorothy Parker was a runner. But I felt she was talking directly to me when she said, “I hate writing, I love having written.” Yes, Dorothy. I ALWAYS love having ran.
There were runs when I felt euphoric. Shots of energy fueled my body. My feet soared as my mind acutely focused on the trail beneath me. All mental and physical stress melted away while my spirits lifted higher than the climb ahead. On those days, I felt unstoppable. I could go on running forever. But these days were few and far between.
Most days, I heard my mind threaten me as I went to put on my running shoes and backpack. “Don’t you dare step into those muddy shoes or put that stinky running backpack on. It’s heavy and musty. Sit down in that lawn chair instead.” But I had committed to running. So I ran. I ran even when the sky spit buckets of rain at me. I ran despite my mind and body yelling in protest. I even ran when my lawn chair offered me a warm, comfortable place to sit and gaze at my grimy running shoes and haggard backpack. I committed to a mission. So I ran.
You see, sometimes doing the things that move us closer to our goals doesn’t always feel good. What does feel good is the self-confidence we gain from doing ‘the thing’ we told ourselves we would do despite not wanting to. This sense of self-confidence fuels our actions and moves us closer toward our goals and we no longer have to wait for someone or something outside of us to come along and do ‘the thing’ for us. Before we know it, we’re blowing our minds.
This brings me to the third lesson that running has taught me.
3) It is fun to blow your own mind.
There was one particular race where I did not blow my mind. I sat quietly in the passenger seat and listened to my mind ruminate about why doing this race was a bad idea while my husband drove us 1.5 hours to the race start. I was less than thrilled to put my running gear on and head to the start line when we arrived. In fact, my first thought after hearing the race director yell, “Go!” was, “Dear god, I do NOT want to do this.” My body received poor fuel from my crummy attitude and lack of enthusiasm, which prevented it from performing at its best. Who could blame it? I finished the race, relieved to be done. But I knew something HAD to change. I needed to start again.
A week later, I showed up at a different starting line with a completely different mindset. I kept thinking about how excited & grateful I was to spend quality time with Mat-Peak. The race director yelled, “Go!,” and I immediately thought, “YAY!”
I focused on my breathing or the breathtaking views to calm my active mind during the race. I shifted my focus onto where in my body I could relax and where I could further engage rather than listen to my mind complain of fatigue. When I noticed my mind start to turn negative, I acknowledged how proud I was of myself for doing ‘the thing.’ My intentional, clear, attitude and abundance of enthusiasm fueled my physical body and enabled it to perform at its best. The result? A finishing time of four hours and four minutes- which was one hour and six minutes faster than the first time I attempted this race.
But even better, I blew my mind.
What does it mean to “blow our mind”?
Well, rather than give in to the limitations of our minds, we commit to consistent action fueled by new and intentional thinking. This new path of action eventually leads to new outcomes that our minds, at one point, thought were impossible. Overcoming the perceived impossible results in a ‘mind blowing experience’ that is powerful enough to set us on an entirely new trajectory. We begin to create more of the life we want for ourselves, and we also start to see ourselves differently. We become a person who can overcome self-imposed challenges and boundaries, leading to a more empowered, rewarding, and mind-blowing way of living.
So what are you waiting for? Only we can blow our own minds but we MUST commit to taking action. Now, go dust off those old, stinky running shoes and follow through on taking one step forward. I promise you won’t regret it.
