Stepping Stones
If you haven’t had a chance to read my last post, I recommend you go check it out here. It’s the prequel to what I’ll talk about in this post.
In summary, I set some goals for myself this year and it’s not the typical “lose weight” new years resolution bullshit. I set some real goals that focus on my personal development.
Recap:
- Run 3 half-marathons in 2018: 2/3 done
- Travel to Spain: done
- Learn to play a song on guitar: progress…
Two of the three half marathons are done. The 2nd one was while I was in España. Yup, that’s right. See, what happened was… I planned my trip to Spain and then I started looking into when I’ll run my next race. There just happened to be one scheduled in Madrid the weekend I planned on arriving! Not the ideal start to a vacation for most folks but I was stoked.
No words that I put in this post will come close to the pride I felt when finishing this race. Picture being in a country you know very little about, by yourself. You’re surrounded by 40,000 strangers. Almost all of the people you walk by are speaking a language that you can’t understand. The thought crosses your mind, “what the fuck am I doing here”. Then, the race starts. At that moment, every single person is speaking the same language. It’s a simple one. One foot in front of the other. Don’t stop. Push through the pain, it’s worth it.
Fast forward 2 and a half hours and I’m fighting off tears. I finished and I AM PROUD. It’s only my 3rd half marathon ever but it’s a new personal record. I’m taking as many pictures as I can to capture the moment. I’m in a timezone 6 hours ahead of my family but I don’t hesitate a bit when sending them all of my selfies and stats. Nobody supports me more than they do.
These goals are more than saying I will do something and following through. It’s about making myself a better person emotionally and physically. Every day is filled with little goals and tasks. They usually add up to something bigger. If they don’t then maybe it’s time to re-evaluate what you do in your day-to-day.
This trip… the race… both were huge stepping stones for my future. There was a time where I thought it’s a terrible idea to travel somewhere by yourself. Now, I can’t wait to do it again! There was a time where I had absolutely no interest in running a half-marathon. With a little bit of focus and a lot of commitment, I am hooked. I’ll tell you a little story…
Rewind back to October 2017. I’m standing in line in our office cafeteria (The Training Table) with my boss. He complimented me on my physical appearance asking me what I had been doing. I explained that I had been doing a lot more cardio, mostly running. He asked me if I thought of training for a half-marathon. “Nope, no way, NEVER”, with lots of laughs… Later that afternoon, HR announced an opportunity for employees to represent the organization in an upcoming race in Dallas. I thought about it for about 5 minutes and decided it was a sign that my boss had just asked me that day if I would ever consider it. It was a sign. I had to do it.
After some consistent training, hard work and some kick ass playlists, something that was once impossible is now a lifestyle. Why is this so important though? Why has this been such a significant stepping stone for me? I love being challenged. I’ve been pretty good at talking myself out of things in my 30 years of life. I’ve lacked the sense of adventure that I have since found. Now that I know I can commit to and complete a half marathon, I’ve decided to start training for a full 26.2! I’ll no longer be only half crazy. It’s time to go full on psycho!
I found a 22 week program to help me get my mileage up, but I’ll likely spread that into a 32 week schedule so it isn’t rushed. Sometime in 2019, I am going to run a full marathon and I’ll post updates on my progress along the way.
“The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.” – Unknown