4 Minutes to Save the World
Yesterday I ran a mile in 10:30. For those of you who run, you’re probably thinking that that’s the speed of evolution and you’d be right. You’d be right because when I began running in July of 2012 I was grateful to run a mile in 15 minutes. Amid the people who told me I was too fat to run, that my body was not meant for running, even dodging my own brain that was telling me I could never do this, I continued. I kept running, kept evolving. So here we are on February 17, 2012—1 month until my half marathon. It’s shocking to me that in less than 2 years, I have shaved off 4.5 minutes from my mile and shed about 45 lbs.
This weekend I will be running 12.5 miles. I’m still in shock that I can do this. It will be slow, it will be steady but it WILL be. Sometimes you have to keep going, despite yourself—despite the voice inside you that whispers you aren’t an athlete or the visions of you in the 5th grade, desperately failing at the rope swing, being laughed at by all the other 10 year-olds. With each step, as each mile passes, you are shedding your scales and your tears and your painful past. With each mile you stand up straighter and evolve into the person you knew you were always meant to be. With each race, with each new pair of sneakers, you release the old you and own the power that has always been there. Just keep running, just keep evolving. Thank you ALL for taking the journey with me. We’re a mere month from the next finish line and then the fun really begins!!!
