This one is for all you "just" people out there (i.e. I "just ran 3 miles", "I'm just running an 11-minute per mile pace", "I just run once a week").
I used to be the queen of the "justs". As a competitive person, calling myself a runner was really hard for a long time. I was used to winning, I was used to being really good at something before I would be seen doing it in public. Running did not come easy for me. When I started I couldn't run for 2 minutes straight without wanting to quit. I was afraid to run with other people because "other people" were runners, not me. In my very first race, I came in 831st place...I thought "Yeah, I'm not a runner". But I kept going, and I soon realized that running was making me happier, stronger, better than I used to be. I cared less about who was running further and faster than me and more about pushing my own limits, seeing what my body, at my age, in this phase of my life, was capable of. And you know what, it's a pretty amazing body, able to do pretty outstanding things when I let it. I had a race this past weekend, and came in 4,772nd place. I probably could have run a little faster, I might have been able to "beat" a few more people, but I didn't care. I was running with friends, I was enjoying a perfect fall day, I was embracing the things that running has taught me. I didn't "just" run 10-miles, I ran for 1 hour and 37 minutes, which is 1 hour and 35 minutes more than I would have ever thought I could do!
So stop comparing yourself to others, take the "just" out of your vocabulary. Be a better you today, that's all that counts!
Absolutely!
ReplyDelete