Yesterday I pushed myself beyond my comfort zone by completing the Bronx 10miler. I’ve run the race before, many half marathons and even a marathon a few years ago. I’m part of the 1%. So yesterday shouldn’t have been a big deal but it was. I’ve gotten so use to going through the motions that I haven’t really been challenging myself with my running or much else.
I run about 4 times a week, 2 days less than when I am in my sweet spot. However I push myself to go out because its something that I missed and something that use to make me feel great so I wanted to tap back into that feeling. It’s been rough. I have achilles tendinitis which renders my foot extremely sensitive and stiff at times and my ass is out of running shape. I miss running a chatty 10 minute mile and now it is laborious most days to even run an 11:30. So a few months ago I figured I would sign up for the Bx 10 miler and get myself in running shape again. I made sure to go out consistently however I was just going through the motions most days. Pretty similar to the way life has been flowing. I designed this platform to celebrate and support self-care and to remind myself I couldn’t just talk about it but I had to be about it.
Building out a new platform with limited resources and support has been challenging but something that I’m reminded from past successes has to be worked on daily very much like my running. Creating a new platform has the struggle of being slow and painful as you build out your direction and audience similar to running that first and not halting to take a walk break just because it gets a bit challenging. In both I am afforded the opportunity to stretch beyond what is comfortable.
I really wanted to bail on this race because I knew thatI wasn’t adequately prepared however I knew that I had run 6 miles recently with little struggle, so what would be another four? The problem is always that lizard brain that Seth Gooden refers to that tells you that you are not good enough or ready that holds you back. I defeated the brain but didn’t do the little things thatI usually do that make race days more enjoyable. I have rituals y’all. One of which is to paint my nails, the other is twisting my hair. I like to look at my painted nails peeking from my lightly cupped hands while I am on the course because they make me happy. The hair thing is simply wanting to look good while I am running and to rock out my before and after picts, beside who knows if this is the day I might meet runner bae
I completed the race taking a good 15 minutes longer than the last time I ran it and who really cares that other than me, my biggest critic. The weather was amazing, the course delightful, great energy and my body was working. That’s all that matters in the grand scheme of things. This week I am going to focus on setting some lofty goals and feeling the burn and pushing through until I have accomplished something.
What will you do to push yourself out of your comfort zone this week?
