My relationship with running has drastically changed over the years.

In 9th grade I was threatened with failing gym class for refusing to dress out and participate. My teen angst and punk skater years were in full affect.

During my junior year of High School I decided to walk our 1 mile test for a kickass time of 18+ minutes.

In 2006, my long awaited Senior year, I refused to participate in the 2 mile test and my then PE Teacher Mr. Lester signed my yearbook stating, “You still owe me the Two Mile test!” *This would eventually become a future motivator.

One night after a long day at the restaurant, my Chef challenged me to a 100m dash.

As an active surfer and skateboarding enthusiast, I thought I had strong legs and could give him a run for his money. He smoked me and mentioned he had recently started CrossFit and was participating in the Tim Kerr 7 Mile run. I immediately thought to myself “never in a million years would I run that.”

What sparked the shift in mindset? When did I start to be drawn toward challenges instead of running away from them?

Fast forward to finding CrossFit in 2014.

Everyday was a new challenge. Instead of finding an excuse to not participate, the Coach would give me an option that would work best for me and my level of fitness at the time. As time went on and I began leading a life of health and fitness, my decisions and mindset started changing on a daily basis.

Stressors became easier to deal with. My self talk became increasingly positive. The simple  mundane tasks of the day no longer brought me stress. My relationship with my Self began to change and in turn I started working toward becoming someone I loved to be.

Then my Chef presented me with another challenge, The Murph Hero WOD challenge. One mile run, 100 Pull-ups, 200 Push-ups, 300 Air Squats then another 1 mile run! Up until this point, the most running I had done was 400m during CrossFit workouts. 2 miles?! That’s insane!

I signed up. That second mile run was awful. I was itching for more.

Fast forward again to my first 5k in 2018.

Jill mentioned her friend was hosting a 5k and was interested in participating. I had never ran more than my yearly 2 miles during Murph, but I thought to myself “Why not. What’s the worst that could happen?” We registered, I ran in my Nike Metcons, my toes were blistered and legs were sore but I survived. I quickly thought to myself, “What else can we do?”

In 2019 we completed nine different 5k’s, back to back Spartan Super and 10k Trail Run, and even the Tim Kerr 7 mile run that was always in the back of my mind ever since Chef challenged me to that 100m dash.

At the end of 2020 we completed our first ½ marathon and now I’ll be taking on my first Marathon in June.

What’s the meaning of all this?

I can tell you first hand that with a little hard work, patience and consistency, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. I don’t recommend signing up for a full marathon with little training or experience, but I do recommend setting it as a potential goal even if you never hit the “register” button.

With time your baseline will improve, the first couple of miles aren’t so tough and the internal dialogue becomes more positive.

Take it from the punk skater kid who used to walk 1 mile for his PE test and is now willingly signing up for ½ Marathons with 2,000 ft of elevation, 12hr relay runs and full Marathons in the month of June. With a little help and support, you can do anything.

Need help setting some goals? Looking for guidance and someone to help with keeping you accountable and on track to hit those goals? We would love to meet with you and learn how we can help you best.