“I have finished.”
“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, ‘I have finished.‘ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.”
-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder
This morning, I pushed myself. I pushed myself to get out of bed. I pushed myself to put on my running shoes. I pushed myself to have a positive attitude about the 2 miles ahead of me. I pushed myself to cross the finish line.
And it felt remarkable.
I wouldn’t consider myself athletic or a runner, but I did it. I challenged myself in a way I haven’t in a long time.
I wasn’t prepared for the run. Husband and I were running consistently for a few months, but stopped the past few weeks. Then I remembered we’d already signed up for the ALS Run in Downtown Bentonville. I literally had dreams all night that I was the last person crossing the finish line and it was humiliating.
Good news – I wasn’t the last, not even close, but even if I had been, it would have been okay. As I was running this morning, I just kept telling myself I can do it. I can push myself harder than I think I can. I let my body take over instead of my mind telling me I couldn’t do it anymore, and I realized how amazing it felt just to be running, regardless of where I was in the pack.
As I’m basking in my satisfaction of doing something I was so fearful of, I have a few thank you’s –
Thank you to my husband for constantly pushing me on our morning runs and giving me the positive reinforcement I need.
Thank you to my mother for encouraging our running and signing up with us, and most importantly staying by my side during the run this morning as we pushed along together.
And finally, thank you to Queen Bey for getting me across the finish line with her flawless songs.
xo xo
m.davis xoxo 