Running – A New Frontier

Well, I did it!  This morning I finished my very first run doing the Couch to 5K program.    I used to be a runner in my late teens and early 20’s and somewhere along the way it fell by the wayside.  But I think that probably explains why my youngest daughter loves to run.  It’s in her blood.

 In our search to find active things to do together, the subject of running often comes up.  But what immediately shoots from my lips are phrases such as, “I’m too old to run at this point” and “The last time I tried it, my knees hurt,” or “I don’t have a good place to run.” 

 Well, these are actually excuses.  You know what excuses are, right?  They are stories we tell others (and ourselves) to justify not doing something. 

 How do I know it’s a story I’m telling myself?  Well, first my close friend and accountability partner Susan Davis is almost done with her nine weeks of the program and she’s in my age neighborhood.   And my friend, Patrick McIntosh, just wrote a blog post using me as an example of someone who wasn’t letting age stand in the way of physical fitness because I was doing P90X.  Sigh! 

And if that wasn’t enough, I was checking out the website (www.c25k.com)  and read that the author of the program, Josh Clark, actually wrote it for his mother who at the time was 50 years old, didn’t exercise, always hated it, and need to workout.  Okay, I get it!  If I can do P90X, then I can definitely do this running thing.  So I finally decided to snuff out the excuses and just do it! 

So I ask you, what stories are you telling yourself that keep you from going after your goals and dreams.  I challenge you to question those stories, face the truth, and go for it.  You can do it!  I know you can.  Share what you discover with me, I’d love to hear all about it.