Last Saturday I ran my first 5K race. Seriously. Worst. Longest. Most Torturous. Painful. Awful ..... thirty one minutes of pain. No other way to describe it. I have not been feeling well - battling a chest cold, I haven't trained properly. I stopped three times on route to hack up a lung. I almost cried when every time I turned a corner another uphill and subsequent muddy downhill awaited me. The race was over for me about two minutes in when the little voice in my head said, "you can't do this". I never got into a happy place, and let the negative feelings defeat me before I had even started. I never let myself look around and see that I was running through a light fog, in an idyllic forest setting, over small bridges, under canopies of tall trees. I missed the beauty and freedom of what I set out to do, and instead let self doubt seep in as "not good enough" became my mantra, running on repeat in my head.
One thing I love about running is that no matter how I set out, I always return a little changed. It helps me to learn a little about myself each and every time.
I finished. It hurt. But I am determined to try again. And no matter how fast or slow my feet move, I will make sure that the little negative voice stays at home and build time in my run to stop and smell the roses.
Life is beautiful!
A challenge, of sorts.... I have two clients who have chosen to work toward the Heydenshore Hoedown 5km run/walk at the end of July. If anyone is interested in joining a team of CORE friends in this goal it would be wonderful! We are not looking at a competitive situation, just to help each other achieve this shared goal of participating, finishing and enjoying! Let us know!
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