Thursday, January 17, 2013

Abandon all Excuses

"Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure."  
Don Wilder & Bill Rechin

It is a new year and many people are wanting to do something new. Wanting to start. Wanting a change. 

 I have heard them all when it comes to running:
  • I have bad knees
  • I can't breathe
  • I can't run, I can't even make it to the mail box
  • I don't have time
  • I am too heavy
  • Running is bad for you
And I have heard them all when it comes to eating healthy:
  • It is too expensive
  • I don't know how to eat healthy
  • I am to busy to prepare food
  • I am skinny I can eat anything I like
  • Eating healthy does not taste good. 
ABANDON all those excuses.  It is time to MAKE IT HAPPEN. 

BAD KNEES...tell me about it. 2 ACL surgeries and 1 Meniscus...Yeah my knees hurt too!
Can't Breath...Slow down...catch your breath, then go again! 
Don't have time... theres 168 hours in the week....minus 56 hours of sleep, 45 hours of work your still at 67 hours....You cant devote yourself 6 hours??? 
I can't run...You were born to run. Your legs were around long before your car was!
I am too heavy... Start off walking and remember...runners come in all shapes and sizes.
Running is bad for you...It seems like we can find a statistic or a poll on anything if we want to make a excuse for not wanting to do something.  The Internet is every ones best friend when they need a partner in their thinking. 

I am not even going to go into the eating healthy arguments.  
ABANDON ALL EXCUSES!!!

When it comes to running 
  • Baby steps.  I started out running till I couldn't run which wasn't very far! I would stop catch my breath and then run again. Eventually I got farther and farther with less walking breaks. 
  • Run your own RACE. It is your run.  Don't worry about your speed or other peoples running ..Do the best you can do. Your speed will improve if you just relax and run the best YOU have. 
  • Gear UP. Make sure you have the proper running shoes. there are many great websites that will help you find the perfect shoes. But you need a good fitting shoe.  My cousin in Iowa was asking about shoes just yesterday, they are so important for not only preventing injury but they are a great motivator too.   Check out this  Runners World shoe guide.
  • Running Partners are awesome. I have gone through a few. But I am always available for when they call me to run again! "Danielle" is the longest running partner I have ever had. They are great encouragers, motivators and accountability partners.  
  • Encourage someone else. Share your new adventure with others. You might be shocked when they are encouraged by your COURAGE to Run. 
  • Register for your first RACE! This gives you a GOAL! 

"It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one." ~George Washington

The Rundown:
Distance: 8
Pace:8:59
Time:1:11
Total 10 miles (2 miles at GAC)
Comments: Danielle and I were talking today about running shoes. I am in need of new shoes bad. It brought a memory to mind.
Many runners that first start out look for the "pretty" shoe. This is often not the best shoe. 
When I was young and more concerned about fashion I did this. I had joined a baseball league with Oakland County. I went out and bought new shoes. I showed up to our first game thinking I had the coolest baseball shoes. Everyone laughed at me but I didn't care because I looked "Cool". 
High Heel Sketcher Tennis shoes in WHITE! Looking back I laugh at how goofy I looked!


WHAT Excuses do you use?? Do you recognize any of those excuses listed? 

Anita

2 comments:

  1. So many people have told me "I can't run." or "I could never run that far." I remind them that I couldn't either, until I decided that I could, and that running was a priority. Start slow. The couch potato to 5k is awesome for a new runner. The first week, you run 60 seconds at a time. Virtually everyone can do that! The problem, the excuses are all in people's heads :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michelle you are right on. We are our own worst enemy. If We could just get past ourselves we could often times conquer our BIGGEST goals. We are our greatest challenge!

      Delete