Week 9 - The Road to 13.1

The weeks are flying by and of all the weeks...this past one might be my favorite.  It started with happy, super charged motivation after an incredible soccer fan dream experience and ended with an even more incredible long distance walk/run  (8 miles with a 1 mile cool down chaser!!).  Yes...that is right...I am now walking and running...which has improved my time exponentially.  After a minor freak out about my slow time and worries over not even finishing the half marathon...my trainer S suggested perhaps I try walking for 3 minutes and running for 2 minutes.  I laughed, thinking it was impossible.  My bestie/big sister friend N (a tri-athlete to boot) had broached the idea with me too.  I shrugged it off...I don't run anymore...I have no stamina.  I can't do it.  On Thursday night, I pushed away all of the negative energy swirling around in my head and went for it.  On the treadmill...for an hour...with loud music pumping through my ears...I alternated with a three minute walk (at 3.7 mph) and then a 2 minute run (from 4.7 - 5.0 mph).  It was glorious...I had forgotten how much I loved that feeling.

Both of my fitness role models were each trying to ease me into the idea of adding running back into my life.   I refused to hear them.  Somewhere along the line, I had convinced myself that I didn't deserve that amazing feeling when you run.  I was holding myself back, thinking that I could only walk.  They believed in me more than I believed in myself.  They could see what I was capable of before I could.  In deciding to trust them, my training has just been amped to a whole new level.  A level that I didn't not even know I was capable of.  What was starting to seem impossible is now coming back into view.

As I was powering through on Thursday night, I started to think about all of my "lessons from soccer"...and how following the beautiful game has changed my perspective on everything.  I never played sports.  I was never on a team.  I have never scored a point in anything.  I have never had a coach.  But now, as a soccer fan, I am exposed to all of these things and more.  I get to see how all of the pieces fit together to create something really special (players, coaches, and staff).  If I could sum up this week with one lesson...it would be this..."Allow Yourself to be Coached".