It's All Impossible....Until You Do It!

The picture above is my race number from the very first official 5K run along with my finishing time on the back.  The trainer of our bootcamp at the time encouraged us to sign up for it so reluctantly, I accepted the challenge and took my husband with me.  When we arrived early on that Saturday morning in Southlake to the run, I was already regretting that I had signed us up.  Running had never been my "thing". I ran all through high school for punishment in athletics for losing a game, slipping out a cuss word on the court or for a million other trivial reasons.  I never wanted to run again once that season of my life was over. Needless to say, I hadn't trained for it either other than going to bootcamp twice a week.  It was too late to back out now.  The "race" started and my mindset is that I will never be able to run 3 miles without stopping. I've never done it before, so why did I think at the ripe old age of 42 that I could/should do this? It just wasn't going to happen. Might I mention that the path on which we were running was not exactly flat the whole way either.  Another obstacle to conquer in my brain!  When my husband and I approached what seemed to be the um-teen-th hill in this race, I slowed to almost a walk, but my husband wouldn't let me stop.  He kept prodding me along, telling me I could do this.  I thought he was crazy, but after about 3 steps walking, I began to jog again and before you know it, the finish line was in sight.  YES!!!  I had done the "impossible"!  I made it to the end with just those 3 steps of walking and the rest running!  I was so tired, but I also was SO PROUD of myself for completing it!!!  My husband knew the gratification I would feel if I completed the 5K.  I just needed him to shift my mindset when the belief in myself was lacking.  It was a great feeling of accomplishment, and I felt as if I owed it to him for not allowing me to stop (even though I wanted to punch him at the time).

A week or two later, the 5K people emailed me some pictures they had taken of me running. They depicted the exact pain I was feeling while doing that run for sure! I shared them with my brother and he even asked me, "Were you dying?"  I told my husband, "I am going to buy this picture because this is not only the first run I have done, it is my LAST!"  I do not ever want to run again!  I wanted to end it on a successful note and not ever have to feel that kind of pain again. So I did!  I bought the picture and even wrote the date and time on the back of it so I would remember my one and only run! (I couldn't find it or I would share).

Guess what?  My husband again did not let me stop there.  On Sundays, when he would run, he would invite me to go with him.  I resisted A LOT at first, but one day, I decided to go and "walk" the track with him.  I couldn't stand it.  I had to try running again! I started with accomplishing a mile without stopping.  In a few more Sundays, I increased to two and then later, three!  Then....I started signing up for more and more official 5K runs and always competed with my time from the last one I had done.  Before I knew it, I had become a "runner" with dozens of T-shirts and race numbers to show for it!

Now, six years later,  I run my own personal 5K at least once a week with my husband on Sundays, and I still compete with my last time.  I have continued to sign up for 5K races in the fall for fun!  Who would have ever thought I would put "running" and "fun" in the same sentence? I have also won some medals for first and second place in my age division! I even completed a 10K this year beginning with the same fearful mindset only to finish it running the whole way with my husband by my side again! Another accomplishment in the books of  running!  What a journey this has been for me to conquer!  I don't regret one moment of it.

My point is trifold. One, fitness/running/working out is a mental thing. Your body can do so much more than your mind thinks it can.  It's only impossible until you do it! Secondly, starting a new health and fitness journey is so much better when you have someone to do it with.  I would not be where I am fitness-wise today without the gentle nudges and support from my husband!  And three, even though its tough to start over again, as long as you do, you haven't failed! So keep striving for your health/fitness goal(s), no matter how "impossible" they may seem now.  It's all impossible until you do it!

If you are ready to accept the challenge of upping your fitness/health game, I would honored to be your "gentle nudge" to help you get started and set yourself up for success!  Simply contact me via email below.  I can't promise you it will be easy, but I can promise you, it will be worth it!  I have been there enough to know!

Fitnessbarrnone@gmail.com