The First Mile

The first mile of my run is always, ALWAYS, the worst. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost quit, or have quit, before I’ve even finished the first mile.

Just this morning in fact. My feet hurt (spoiler: my feet always hurt the first mile) and my right calf ached (my sister, who is way more of an athlete than me and studying sports medicine, has since told me it is a shin splint…lovely). I’d made my one loop around the blocks near my apartment which equals .9 of a mile. I was literally walking into my complex thinking “Well I did very nearly one mile, that’s better than nothing.”

And it’s true, one mile is better than nothing. But I knew I could do more. Plus I am training for a freakin’ half marathon. So I paused for a few seconds stretched out my calf and my feet and I gave myself permission to slow down.

I think that is the key. Give yourself permission to go slow. If one mile is better than nothing, then two slow miles is just wonderful. I actually read this tip on a blog somewhere (see my first post on scouring the internet…I really have been doing that). The girl was training for some sort of big race, so during a smaller race she said, “I gave myself permission to go slow.”

I can see that some people might be leery of this Go Slow philosophy. Can it get you into a trap of never going fast or not really giving your runs all you’ve got? Undoubtedly. But, so can staying in your cozy bed at 6am instead of getting out there and pounding the pavement.

I know that I can do this. My mom (Hi Mom!) always gives me great advice. And one thing that she says to me frequently, that I am passing on to you, is “You Can Do Hard Things.”

And, just so you know, after I went slow for a few minutes I was able to go faster than before.

So keep going. Keep moving. Keep having fun with it. You Can Do Hard Things.

Question of the Day: What is something that keeps you motivated through hard things?

Brilliance of the Day: A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work. – Colin Powell