Journey XIV Week 3
The Equation

Finishing. (Left) This racer inspired me as he sped by in whipping winds to complete the 13.1 miles of the Austin Half Marathon. (Right) iGnite Monarch Janet Chastain set her goal in the fall to complete the half marathon and she did it! Way to go Janet for believing in yourself, persevering, and finishing.

“A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.” — Patricia Neal

Action: Believe in yourself and others- that anything is possible! The make up and the quality of your life is 90% mental and 10% physical.

When I was a freshman at U.T. I began running for exercise. There were three basic reasons: I didn't want to gain the “freshman fifteen”, it was free, and I could do it anywhere.

Thankfully I was introduced to Townlake, now Lady Bird Lake, and became familiar with its three mile loop. Having never run more than two miles, I was very pleased with my three mile performance and ran several times a week. Not too long into my new “hobby” my sister approached me about training for the Motorola Marathon. Being naïve, young, fearless and having been raised by a father who coached us to say “I'm mean and tough”, I energetically accepted the challenge. Six months later my sister and I finished our first marathon.

Crossing the finish line was an exciting and proud moment, though I vividly remember immediately saying “I'll never do that again!”—and I haven't (yet). Despite the extreme soreness that lasted two solid weeks, I wouldn't trade my experience for the world. I gained valuable wisdom from my training. I learned about nutrition and stretching. I learned running more than 19 miles is not just important, it's necessary. But I learned three very important life lessons too.

Firstly, I learned that middle-aged women are amazing! I've never been more humbled and shocked by any one group in my life. At the time I ran the race I was twenty-one and feeling plenty confident. But during the race I was passed by women whose ages ranged from 40-60+. Not only did they have incredible physiques, but their times were fast! To this day my sister and I agree that middle-aged women are the toughest of all age groups—men included. And now that I regularly work with these women, I have NO DOUBT about it! My belief it that after bearing and raising children everything else is a cakewalk.

Secondly, I learned that we need friends and a support system that know our goals and aspirations so they can positively and honestly encourage us and hold us accountable. Had it not been for my sister and our friends that we trained with, I know the marathon would've only been a thought. We knew if we didn't show up we would not only let ourselves down, but the team down.

And lastly, I learned that running, like many things, is 90% mental and only 10% physical. Through the months of running and races that led up to the marathon, as well as during the actual marathon, there were countless amounts of participants that physically did not appear capable of finishing. Yet, despite age, size or disability they did finish. In hindsight, I didn't train all that well. But because I believed in myself and was excited about a new challenge and experience, I was able to finish.

So I'm finally ready to eat the words that I spoke after finishing the marathon. Yes, I would like to run another marathon because the positives outweighed the negatives 10 to 1, and the life lessons and experiences were abundant. I find this is always the result when we challenge ourselves. There is never the regret that comes when we settle and tell ourselves “no”.

One of the key reasons I chose the outdoors as our gym is that it's not always easy, convenient, comfortable or predictable. That creates more of a mental challenge than if we worked out inside a gym with comforts and distractions such as televisions, iPods, and air conditioning. The mental challenge is critical to growth. We must meet the challenge with belief in ourselves.

Today and throughout this week, I encourage you to consider your belief capacity in yourself and others. Do not allow yourself or others to put limits, timetables, or “nevers”. Keep this equation in mind:

Outdoor Exercise + Belief in Oneself = Growth + Joy

Always always always believe in yourself!

And never never never believe in the goofy new “shake weight”. YES... this is real and I promise even SIX HOURS per day won't give the arms they are suggesting!!

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