I’ve been running for almost 7 years now and no sport has ever taught me more about myself and about life. It has been so influential in my life and continues to be. It hasn't always been perfect. Running and I have a real love/hate relationship most of the time but no matter what I always am drawn to it. It seems crazy but if you run you know what I'm talking about! Here are the 10 top things running has taught me over the years:
Run your own race! If you try to run at someone else’s pace, then you will either start out too fast and burn out or you will start too slow and won’t catch back up in time to finish. This is something I learned throughout many cross country races but it directly ties into life as well. You weren't made to live someone else‘s life and trying to will cause you to burn out or not reach your full potential! Stop trying to run everyone else's race and focus on the race set out before you.
Starting is just as brave as finishing! Training is hard. There are mornings where the last thing I wanted to do was to go run. I found that it is so much harder to get started than it is to go out there and finish the dang thing! Also which is true of life. Starting something new and unknown can be scary, but once you take the leap you never look back!
You can do hard things! Due to running races and all those long runs for training, I started believing more in my ability to try something I thought was way too hard. January 2019, I made the impulsive decision to sign up for a marathon. Yes, I knew that I would have to run 26.2 miles but I knew that I would be able to do it! Last September, I ran the Montreal marathon and it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do! I can't describe the relief and the power I felt crossing the finish line! I literally I cried because I had just run a marathon!
It is 100% mental! I can't stress this point enough! Yes, it helps to be in shape but the game is all in the mind. Your body follows your mind! You won't finish the race if you think you can't. My family always says "Can't died when my great-grandma was a little girl!", which was in the 1910's. So it has been a while! They started to instill the mental toughness we would need to face life. Life just like running is hard and you will tested! Just when you started to think you got everything under control, life comes and rips the rug right from underneath you! Life can humble you pretty fast! It is all in your mindset! Change your attitude, change your life.
Progress over perfection! Marathon training was draining! One week your long run felt so good and you felt unstoppable and then the next week you can barely run 3 miles. You start questioning if you really can run this marathon after all. It isn't the perfect runs that make you better, it's the ugly runs. In life, it isn't the perfect days that make you, it's the ugly days that strengthen you into a better person! Keep moving! Keep pushing onto the next day! Don't fall under the illusion that you have to be perfect every single day of your life.
Community is priceless! Anyone who has run cross country in high school or are apart of a running club will tell you that community is everything! Those people running beside you, the ones coaching you, the supporters that come to all your races, and the strangers you haven't even met are all pushing you to keep going and finish what you started! To all my running partners, you have pushed me not only to new distances but personally as well. There is something to be said about surrounding yourself with people who care about you and want nothing but the best for you! No matter what you are into, find a community to support you!
Encourage people! Something my cross country coach always told me during races and hard practices was that I was "Floyd tough". You better believe that at that moment I didn't believe it about myself. I was hurting and didn't want to pick up the pace. Every muscle in my body was screaming to stop but there was something that would come alive in me when I heard their encouragement. It caused me to dig deeper within and find the strength I was lacking just seconds before! Honestly, who doesn't love to be encouraged or to know someone believes in you! Be that encouragement for people that causes them to find the fire within!
The reward isn’t the medal at the end of the race! In high school, we raced to be the best team we could be by being the best individual we could be! Yes, we wanted to finish well and place at state but the people we became and bonds we formed were worth way more than any medal or trophy we could have received. In the end, all those medals do is sit and collect dust. What lasts are the friendships you've created and the people who love you for who you are not what you achieved!
What you let into your mind is just as important as what you let into your body! We all know are bodies perform better when we eat healthier, so why would it be any different for our minds? Don't let negative things set up camp in your mind! Don't let people who constantly bring you down have your ear time! Don't let your self talk be negative. I am still working on that one! I bring myself down faster than anyone or anything! Fill your mind with positive and uplifting things!
The same endurance you gain from running helps develop the endurance of your faith. This one has been the biggest development in my life! Running is one of the places that God has taught me the life lessons that have shaped me into who I am supposed to be. Running is also a place where I go to have quiet time with God. The same endurance I use to run helps me get through hard seasons of life. I think of developing my faith like training for a race. The more I train, the stronger I get. The same is with my faith. The more I train up my faith, the stronger my faith gets.
Running has been a big part of my life and I am continually grateful for what it has taught me and given me. I have so many mentors and friends from running cross country or just running for fun! I love each and everyone of you! Go out and get your run on!
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