I Got It!

When running is part of your every day routine it’s as comforting as your husband’s customary kiss before he heads off to work, your kids’ good night cuddles, or your favorite cup of tea on a dreary day. It lifts your spirits, motives you to greater things and inspires a mood of both anticipation and contentment. When your routine changes and your running slips from it’s comfy spot in your schedule you notice it just as much as if you’ve gone without any of those other life comforts.

And so when I stepped onto the treadmill last night for the first time in what felt like a loooooonnngg time, I stepped onto the treadmill with great trepidation. Would I find that my breathing had lost it’s steady rhythm? Would my legs feel like jelly? Would I want to quit before I really even began?

Despite my trepidation I set my goal high – as is my typical way of approaching anything in life – and decided to go for a cool hour-long run. I decided that the distance wouldn’t be the goal, just the length of time spent moving. I found a TV show that didn’t require a lot of grey matter to follow the plot line and reached deep into myself, past the butterflies in my stomach, and found the courage to reach out and press that ugly little START button.

To my great relief things did not immediately fall apart. Sure, I got sweaty sooner than I usually do, and yes my breathing was a little slow to find it’s familiar pace but nothing crazy happened. No one burst into the room shouting ‘Ah ha! I knew you were out of your running routine!’, my kidneys did not implode, me knees didn’t even hurt! In fact it felt great! I ran 11km in just under an hour and finished things up with a walk and some fun backwards walking on the elliptical. To find out that I still had it was encouraging. Sometimes we procrastinate for fear of what will happen when we actually do step out and do something – how nice to find that I still got it!

Just like that trepidation and procrastination turned into moxie, initiative and energy!

Try it out! Whether it’s been one week or one year without your usual routine of putting yourself out there and running – just try it. You might just find out that you’ve got it!