I'm still running...a lot...well, a lot for me. I did 8 miles this past Sunday. I actually ran the first 4 without stopping...I couldn't believe it. I was at the one mile point, I felt fine. So I kept running. I was running along the waterfront in San Diego and it was a simply beautiful, stunning, makes-you-want-to-be-outside kind of day. So I kept running. It was unreal to me, but I must admit I was proud of myself. At the 4 mile point, I was in front of the cruise ships, and there were a lot of people walking around, so I began to walk...but I SO wanted to do the "Rocky" dance (you know the one, where he's at the top of the stairs and has his fists in the air....background the awesome Rocky theme...can you picture it? I was there...I was SO there...) I'm walking/running about 20 - 25 miles a week ~ amazing. I read an old post where I ran for 4 minutes straight...now, I'm running almost 60 minutes...what's the difference? Training ~ yes. Determination ~ yes. But I think the biggest difference for me is simply one thing: confidence.
The race is about a month away...I'm getting excited...I'm reading up on half-marathons, on the mental aspect of running. It's supposed to be cold at the start of the race, so I'm looking at what I'm going to take....I guess you just take off layers as you run, so you take clothes you don't expect to get back...I didn't know that. I'm learning more and more each and every day. My confidence is growing each and every day as well.
Many people have asked me if I'm surprised that I am running. They ask if I'm afraid I won't finish. Most tell me they could never run 8 steps, let alone 8 miles. I think that's what I've learned the most about myself. I can do a lot more than I think I can. My body can endure more steps than I thought it could. Mainly, I've learned that confidence will play a bigger role in the half-marathon than almost anything. Confidence. I would never have believed that I could be where I'm at with my running. Confidence. It's a good thing!
