You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. – C.S. Lewis
I was never particularly athletic in school. The cheerleaders were the ones who ran track and played basketball. I was a majorette, and more of the theater type. I was always active, running just didn’t appeal to me in the least. I resigned myself to the fact that if we ever faced a zombie apocalypse, I’d be eating brains fairly quickly.
Then I turned 39.
We enrolled our oldest daughter, who was 9 at the time, in a program called Girls on the Run. It’s awesome. Over the course of the curriculum, girls learn vital life skills through running games and conversation-based lessons. At the end of the program, the girls run a 5K together. (There’s more to how amazing this program is – empowering girls to be confident, strong and community minded – but that’s another post!).
For the 5K, they needed “running buddies” to stick with the girls as they did the race. I was hesitant, not being a runner and all. However, my desire to run a race with my daughter outweighed any apprehension. We probably walked more than we ran, but we finished!
Since then, I’ve run a few more 5Ks, a 4-Miler, a couple of trail races and the USMC Mud Run (probably my biggest challenge yet!).
Currently, I’m training for my first half marathon. It was my goal for last year, but I chickened out. I decided I was not going to let 2012 close out without me having accomplished that goal.
I’m not gonna lie. I’m still pretty stinkin’ slow, I’m sure I look ridiculous, and I don’t LOVE it…yet. I’m certainly no Eric Liddell – as portrayed in Chariots of Fire (though there are similarities as evidenced in the picture below).
However, I look forward to my morning runs. I love the way I feel when I finish – not just because it’s over. I feel stronger and more confident in what I can do athletically than I did when I was 20. I’ve also been crazy blessed along the way with people who have encouraged me as athlete and schooled me on this running thing – Karin, Jean, Janna, Melody, Jessica, Jill, Amie, Heather, Mary Ellen, Jane, and Carole. Without them, I would have surely been injured more or would have quit entirely after one crappy run.
I’ve decided not to let my age get in the way of my physical health. I may be crossing finish lines a lot slower one day – but I’ll still be crossing them.
Awesome. Don’t worry about your speed at the moment, just focus on crossing that line. Just crossing the finish line is a great accomplishment. The speed will build up with each finish line you cross. Never give up, never give in…
This is great! I’ve been impressed by your “never give up attitude.” Keep going!