PHOTOGRAPHY // TRACEY MARTIN
Queen Bey said “I’ma keep running ’cause a winner don’t quit on themselves.” Consider this your notice that I’m doing the same. Metaphorically and literally.
Now that it’s the New Year and I’m no longer devouring homemade pecan pie, your girl is about to go hard. And when I say hard, I’m mean I’m about to start running again to drop these holiday pounds.
To tell you the truth, I never thought I’d say that I love running, but here I am saying it; I love running. To me, it is the most effective way to release anxiety and stress. Not only does it force you to focus on your breathe, but affirms that you can (and you should) trust your body. That’s what I learned when I started running before the move to Texas.
But there are so many other lessons you can learn. Here are five life lessons I learned in the past two years I’ve been running:
Running My Own Place
When I first started running, I ran with my love. I remember trying my hardest to keep up with him despite the fact that he’d been running three miles for months at that time. I huffed, puffed, and ran out of air within minutes. I’d walk it off, put a pep in my step only to find myself in the same situation moments later.
Then, one day, instead of trying to keep up with him, I focused on myself. I breathed through my nose and at the moment I wanted to give up and stop, I breathed through my mouth. That simple change gave me the motivation to keep going a little longer. And before I knew it, my love had stopped running and I was making my way past him.
Simply put, it’s so easy to focus on other people’s progress whether you’re running or living life. Either way, when you focus on yourself and how you can improve, guess what? You improve.
Every Starting Place is a New Opportunity
I wish I could tell you that I can run two miles without stopping. Sure, some days, I can, but there are days that I can’t. I have to stop, take a beat and yes, even encourage myself that I can do it. Often times, “Freedom” by Beyoncé is the only thing that gets me through my run.
When I do stop, I don’t get upset or feel disappointed. Instead, I look at it as a new opportunity. That might mean pacing myself behind another runner so that I can run longer and farther.
Do you see? Even if you stop running or *insert your goal here,* you have the power to change the outcome by switching up your approach. But — and this is important — you have to view it as a new opportunity because success starts in your mind.
Slow Down Before Stopping
I hope this doesn’t sound contradictory to the last point, but too often, when things get hard, we stop. I did it when I first started running because I couldn’t take the pain I felt in my calves. In my mind, something was wrong. What’s more, heaving for air felt unnatural to me because I’ve never been athletic. And I’ve never *insert your favorite excuse here.*
But the more I showed up for myself and pushed my body, the more I learned that I don’t have to stop. Sometimes, slowing down is exactly what your body and brain need to keep going.
So, next time, when things get hard or feel painful, I encourage you to slow down. Take a beat and don’t take the easy way out.
Almost Doesn’t Count
I don’t know about you, but I have always focused on the destination more than the journey. That didn’t change when I started running. I carried that mindset over and was so focused on getting to the entrance of the park. After I’d slowed down and still wanted to stop, I’d tell myself “you’re almost there.” The crazy part, though I hadn’t said it, I was also telling myself that I’ve done enough. Does that make sense? Like, I already ran three-quarters of the pond without stopping, I’m almost there. As if that’s good enough.
Well, it’s not. Sorry, but almost doesn’t count. I had to rewire my brain from that thinking to focus more on my playlist than the entrance of the park.
To this day, even though I’ve moved, I know exactly where I should be in the park based on the song that’s playing. It helps me focus a little more on the journey than the destination so that I won’t excuse myself from finishing the race. I repeat: So that I won’t excuse myself from finishing the race.
In case you didn’t catch that, we limit ourselves. We are the reason we don’t finish the race because of the stories we tell ourselves. This year, let’s tell ourselves a new story and proclaim almost doesn’t count!
You Can Be the Tortoise and Still Win the Race
Everybody knows the story about the tortoise and the hare. Yet, we often feel like we have to go faster to get where we want to go. That can be the finish line after a run like the entrance of the park. It can even be a life event like marriage or parenthood or a position in our careers.
Well, I’m here to tell you that I’ve run beside so many people who took the hare’s approach. Meanwhile, I remained slow and steady like the tortoise and still made it to my finish line before them. You and your situation is no different.
So, always remember, slow and steady wins the race.
