“You ARE what you train for.” As I train for an upcoming 10K, this thought continually bounces around in my head. I have keep reminding myself that, even though I’m a natural sprinter, I can and will do anything that I put my mind to. It’s just a matter of training. I grew up racing kids on the playground. For a period of time, I was deemed the fastest girl in school. One by one, girls and guys would challenge me to a race, and I’d win. Of course, this built my confidence. One particular day in elementary, when a boy challenged me to a race, I didn’t think twice about saying yes. If I had beaten everyone else, why wouldn’t I be able to beat him? Pretty logical for an eleven-year old mind, right? Well, up until that point, all of the races had been short distances. This boy wanted to race me all the way to the other side of the playground and back. I didn’t really want to run that far, but I had already accepted the challenge of racing him and didn’t want to back down. So, we started the race. Not use to pacing myself, I took off at my normal speed, even though I had to run more than twice as far as I normally did. Halfway to the other side of the playground, I lost steam, and eventually had to stop running because I was so out of breath. I was disappointed in my lost.
At the time, I didn’t realize that I had trained my body to sprint and had become proficient in it. Even until this day, my workouts typically involve sprints, because that’s what I have always enjoyed and have been good at. I never trained my body for long distance running, which is the reason preparing for this 10K is so challenging. Many times when I’m running, I can feel myself having to fight against what my body is used to. Then the negative thoughts creep in. I start to think, “I’m not a long distance runner. Why am I doing this? Why am I running so far?” My body even tells me to stop running, but I have to keep pressing through every step because I have a goal. I decided to run a 10K to challenge my body to do what it has never done before. While some people have aspirations of running a marathon (No thanks!), this 10K feels like a marathon to me. And really, it’s not about the destination. It’s about the journey. It’s about learning to pace myself during the run. It’s about pushing myself further each time I run. It’s about learning to properly stretch to prevent pain and injuries. It’s about putting one foot in front of the other and not stopping until I reach my goal.
As you work towards any goal you may have set for yourself, be it running long distances, trying to lose weight, trying to achieve career success, or whatever it may be, remind yourself that you have to train your body for that outcome. It takes constant preparation to reach that end goal. Yes, I wish I could just wake up tomorrow and run the six miles nonstop, but that’s not how it works. So don’t expect to reach your end goal without having to put in the time and the work. Will you get frustrated? Absolutely. But use that frustration to fuel your drive. Take the journey one step at a time and celebrate your small victories. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you have setbacks. But above all else, keep pushing until you cross the finish line!
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