Did It!
Posted by Sandra Foyt | June 5, 2011 | 2 Comments
Do you know that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that you get when waiting for the rollercoaster to take off? Excited anticipation mixed in with an intense desire to vomit?
Mix that in with a pressing need to make use of the restroom facilities, and that’s how I felt at the count down to the start of the Freihofer’s Run for Women.
This was worse than last year when I signed up for the race on the spur of the moment. Now, here I was, proud member of Team Jenn, ready to run after completion of the Couch to 5K training program. Except that I wasn’t ready.
In recent weeks, my travel schedule kept me from the training sessions; and although I tried to run on my own, it wasn’t the same. Then, three weekends back, when I should have been stepping up the race intervals, I injured a foot walking in flats in New York City. Nothing major, but my nearly-fifty-year-old body doesn’t bounce back like it used to.
Excuses, so many excuses for not meeting my own expectations for myself, but like many women, I’m harder on myself than anyone would or could be.
The fact is, I conquered that awful feeling at the beginning of the race. I didn’t meet my personal goal of being able to run the entire 5K without walking, but I ran stronger and better than last year. And I performed 100% better than all those years when I didn’t even try.
When I wanted so desperately to walk away, to find a restroom in the park and give up on finishing the race, I kept going because I knew that every one of us who finishes the Freihofer’s Run for Women is an inspiration to our sisters and daughters.
A friend told me just this week that I inspired her to start running, and that she has now worked up to making it around the corner. That’s huge.
Whether we run well, or not, there is no better feeling than knowing that we’re helping pass on the baton to other women. That they will pick it up motivated to try.
The next woman’s goal may be to walk around the block, or to run a marathon. But in tackling each new hurdle, there’s a sense of empowerment that leads to new challenges. And who knows where that will lead.
Sandra Foyt writes about fun and educational family adventures on www.AlbanyKid.com. She is in training to keep up with her teen and tween, an outdoorsy husband, and an over-indulged Chocolate Lab.
Comments
2 Responses to “Did It!”
June 5th, 2011 @ 2:40 pm
Thank you for sharing your “fears”. I don’t ever see myself runnging. This year I did participate in the Community Walk and was so thrilled with myself that I finished it. It was only two miles but for me it could have been a 5K run. Thank you.
June 5th, 2011 @ 9:01 pm
That’s awesome! It’s all about doing your personal best, right? And who know where all this walking will lead? Next year you just might see yourself running!