The other day, as I bopped to some music on the elliptical machine in the quiet of a small workout room, feeling content and productive as I was getting my workout in, I suddenly thought:
I should sign up for a half marathon.
For as long as I can remember, I have admired and respected long distance runners—people who can run half marathons or marathons and people who run miles upon miles each week as part of their exercise routine. I admire runners for not only being fit and having strong physical endurance, but for the mental perseverance behind a long distance runner. When someone tells me that they are running a half marathon or that they go to bed before 10PM in college, I often tell them, “wow, I so respect that.” So recently I thought: what’s stopping me from working towards qualities I respect?
I have also always wanted to run a half marathon. It has always been a goal that has lingered in the back of my head, and something that I have wanted to accomplish. So another thought I’ve been having is: What’s stopping me? Why not now?
As I think about what I am getting myself into, I already know that there will be many challenging and painful times. I will probably want to stop running during various points of this journey. But I think this is another big reason that I want to take on a half marathon. I feel like with most challenges I take on, I know that I will be able to complete them. For example, even if a course is hard, I know that with hard and smart work, I will be able to learn and do well in the course. I think taking on this half marathon would be one of the challenges that, if I’m being honest, I wasn’t always confident that I could complete (and even now, I am a little scared). So yes, I think it would be painful at times, and difficult, but I don’t think we are called to live an easy life, and I believe overcoming this challenge will serve as a scaffold to future difficult tasks. I will be able to look back during future difficult times and say, “wow, I did something I wasn’t sure I could do, so I can definitely do this.”
A friend of mine from high school ran a half marathon during her senior year, and I believe some of the words she shared with me are another reason I am running this half marathon. She told me that growing up in a competitive high school, she felt a pressure to only try things and really get involved in things that she was good at. And for her, although she was not necessarily the fastest runner, she really enjoyed pushing herself and running. To her, running was something she did even though she was not the “best” at it. I think similarly, my goal with this half marathon is not to finish in a certain time, but to jog the whole way through. I definitely would not classify myself as the fastest runner, but I also think there is value in doing things you are passionate about, even if you aren’t the “best” at it. We don’t have to be good at everything, but there is always value in trying new things and overcoming challenges.
Finally, I think the main reason why I want to do a half marathon is because recently I have felt rather unproductive and a bit stuck in life. I sometimes make lists upon lists of things I need to do, yet struggle to complete everything each day. I also have been struggling with my eating habits and body image in college so far. I want to make concrete changes and take action to live my best life, so the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I should run the Philadelphia Love Half Marathon. I think it would serve as an excellent way to keep my workouts in check and grow mentally and physically.
I look forward to the challenging, yet incredibly rewarding, journey to come.
With love,
Joyce
P.S. This is a picture I took the other day while jogging along the Schuylkill River Trail! What a beautiful world we live in! :')
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