one of my favorite mantras has always been "just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." i love dory :) but even though taking advice from animated characters may be crazy, it has always helped me so much when i felt completely overwhelmed or defeated "just keep swimming...just keep swimming..." i would say to myself...and i would do just that...."just keep swimming...just keep swimming"
but i never really translated it to help me with running at all. weird i know...but i didn't.
until the other day when i saw that little gem up there on pinterest. *BAM* it hit me like a ton of bricks. & let me tell you...i needed it.
you see, i ran my first 10K back on june 12th. and at about the halfway mark on the course "my head" did give out. there was this crazy long hill & it was hard & i was tired....
so i stopped & walked. & that kinda did it... i defeated myself. the "what were you thinking?" & "you can't do this!" started to work on my psyche. i did get back to running again after that hill, but stopped a couple more times. the damage had already been done.
i did finish that 10K. & i did finish strong (thanks to my amazing friend, colleen, who scooted up next to me the last quarter mile cheering & running along with me. she's amazing.) & i was really proud of myself for finishing.
but that personal defeat at the bottom of that huge long hill just after the halfway point left a sour taste in my mouth. i knew, deep down, that "my head" had given out on me.
so when i left this morning for another 10K i was a bit nervous. would i be able to drown out those "i can't"s & replace them with "i can"? i wasn't so sure...
but i did.
i did.
a big part of the credit goes once again to colleen. we ran the entire race together & she kept me going. just knowing i was keeping up with her encouraged me (she is a total speed demon!)
and i kept telling myself "your legs are not giving out, your head is. just keep going."
even when we came up on a crazy steep hill just after mile 5. seriously....after MILE 5! (the race course planner is evil...) i saw it first & basically shouted "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!" it was totally not what i wanted to see. there was this crazy long hill & it was hard & i was tired...
but this time, i just buckled down & ran to the finish.
just keep swimming...just keep swimming....
happy weekend!!
xoxo
gi
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