Making it happen …
An excerpt in my training log after completing my first marathon in California. It was what I’d call a pivotal birthday, and I wasn’t very happy to be there. I could have sunk into deeper depression or thought perhaps I would dare to do something out of my comfort zone. I signed up for my first marathon, the Rock ‘n’ Roll in San Diego. Not only did I force myself to run at least 400 miles over the next four months of training, but I took my first airplane trip in about 14 years. As soon as I registered and paid the entry fee, I was locked in. Training began in February, despite freezing temps and sharp windy gusts that cut across my face. There were days when I cursed nearly every step and days that made me so grateful to be running toward my goal. I had often wanted to run a marathon but never got past a half (13.1 miles) and several smaller 5Ks. What had held me back for so long? I’ve never been a speedy runner and I wear the self-deemed label of tortoise: slow and steady to finish the race. There were mishaps and injuries along the way – the times I fractured a rib, tore up my knee, had shin splints, a sore ankle – but one thing got me through: my mind! Despite the occasional griping, I was grateful for each step. I had previously been in two car accidents: the car flipped over in one of them and caused a knee, head and arm injury and the second one required the jaws of life to get me out. So yes, I am very grateful every day for being able to run and exercise. There were some naysayers who either predicted that I’d land in the hospital or questioned my sanity to run this distance. Registering was the first step, and then I had to believe I was going to make it to the finish line. Reading the stories of other novice runners, motivational, dietary and physical training tips and a strategy of mileage helped. Most important of all, though, were the affirmations I repeated to myself, a clear visual of me accomplishing my goal with a smile on my face and belief that I could do it.
Thanks to a great marathon training book (The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer), I tracked every day of every week of those four months until I reached my destination of 26.2 miles. I worked on positive thinking in addition to the physical training, but the journey itself was just as important. On this run (excerpt above) I did not have a solid plan for my run and my motivation wavered at the end. This is so true in any goal that we have: we need to map it out in terms of what we need to do in order to achieve what we want. I was not clear about where I was going to run for 16 miles and it took more energy to improvise. Want to eat more healthy meals to lose weight? Don’t wait until you’re hungry to try and figure out what you need. Plan one or more weeks at a time and focus on your end result: feeling and looking fantastic! I told myself at the start of the race that “it was an awesome run,” and by the finish line, it truly was. Believe, have a plan and make it happen!
This Week’s Motivational Tools:
- The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
- The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer by Whitsett, Dolgener and Kole
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.
Albert Einstein
Jack Canfield, successful author and motivational speaker, says that we send out requests to the universe every day in the form of thoughts — what we think about, read about, talk about and give our attention to. Unfortunately, he says, many of these thoughts are random, contradictory and nonproductive, and they happen under the radar in our subconscious mind. When we criticize ourselves, complain about things and focus on what’s lacking in our lives, we are sending out negative requests: creating pictures in the mind of what we don’t want. The Law of Attraction responds either way, he says, and “brings you more” of what you’re focusing on. “The more you focus on and talk about what you DO want, instead of what you don’t want, the faster you will manifest your dreams and goals,” Canfield says in The Success Principles.
