When I started running back in May I could run a mile and a quarter solid. I wouldn't push beyond that distance and always had excuses for why I couldn't. I would be in a lot of pain or completely winded and generally was satisfied with my under achievement.
Then one day something happened. I just decided to run three miles. I did it and from that moment on I have been inching my way up to more distance. One of the things I realized when I reached the three mile mark was how easy it was to lie to myself. I would tell myself I couldn't take another step because I was so exhausted, yet in the time it took me to think that thought and try to talk myself out of the discomfort of running I had probably taken at least ten more steps. I soon realized that what I was thinking and telling myself was not true. I could actually take one more step. It was never that I could not do it but instead that I would not do it.
Lately I have been using time instead of distance to kind of gauge my progress. I know I can run about five miles in about 52 minutes or so. This has been my limit for some time now so yesterday I decided to push my time to at least an hour and ten minutes. An extra twenty minutes is nothing if you are having a good time but when you are exhausted it is quite a bit of time and you feel every second. I am happy to say that I ran for an hour and twenty-four minutes yesterday.
That certainly is no great feat for a seasoned runner but every seasoned runner has at one time been where I am and can relate to what it feels like to push their body farther than it thinks it can go.
I'll keep pushing and see where it gets me.
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