Blubber To Runner

That theme is ‘Doubt’… and a lot of people seem to have it these days.

I’m getting a lot of variations of it:

“I don’t think I can do…”

“I’m gonna wait until I do…”

“I’m not really sure I can handle…”

“I’m not positive I can…”

So, because of that, I want to address one of the other ‘mantras’ I have: 

To achieve anything… you have to have a plan in place to do so.  I don’t care if it’s getting Epic gear on World Of Warcraft (for you non-gamers, that’s not just ‘cool’ gear… that’s an actual level of gear you can obtain), getting an ‘A’ on an exam, or running your first 18-mile race.  You have to have a plan in place.  

But that’s really the easy part. 

Figuring out HOW you’re gonna do something requires minimal effort.  The effort comes in when you actually EXECUTE the plan.  THIS is when it starts to get tough.  But you need to remember that you put together this plan to achieve your goal, so you need to trust that plan through to its full execution in order to reach the finish line – literally or metaphorically speaking.

You need to:

Let me talk about my running shoes.  You’ve heard me mention them several times before – Vibram Five Fingers.  They are 100% minimalist running shoes.  No padding in them… in layman’s terms they are essentially Aqua Socks w/ treads on them.  Now, you don’t just decide “Hey, I’m gonna run barefoot!” and go out and run 5 miles because that is what your half-marathon training plan says.  What do you do?  

*say it with me*

So I researched.  I learned the exercises I needed to do every day.  I learned the different muscle groups this would now work that I needed to make sure I stretched properly.  I learned about 1 mile weekly increases in my runs – and carrying my regular shoes to switch into when I was on a run that was longer than my minimalist transition dictates. I read the book on them – literally – and educated myself about the good and bad regarding making this transition and deciding if it was where I wanted to take my running. So I picked a day (2 days after my half-marathon) and started the transition.

Now pay attention, because HERE is where trusting the process comes in.

Did I feel like I could run farther than 2 miles in those shoes in week 1?  ABSOLUTELY.

Did I feel like I could run more than 3 days/ week in those shoes in week 1? OF COURSE.

Did I feel a little bit of pain in some areas I wasn’t quite used to after week 2?  UHHH… YEAH.

But I trusted the process, knowing all along that THIS is the way to do this right if it’s what I really wanted to do.  Not that there’s a ribbon-cutting ceremony for it or anything but, I am a 100% transitioned minimalist runner at this point.  I can easily run a half-marathon in those shoes now and, unless a freak injury occurs, I will never go back to running in any other style of shoe.

I didn’t go over 2 miles that first week… I didn’t do more than 3 days that week… and I knew the pain I was feeling wasn’t bad, it was just part of the transition.  I trusted the process and, in the end, I achieved my goal of becoming a minimalist runner.  I did this because the goal was to transition to these shoes, NOT to do my half-marathon training plan in them from Day 1.  Can I run more than 2 miles?  Yes.  But that wasn’t the point of what I was doing.  The point was the transition, so I trusted that process… and it worked.

So… when you’re doing the Couch to 5K plan and, after week 2, can’t figure out how you’re gonna run more than 30 seconds straight by the end – TRUST THE PROCESS.  Or… if you’re debating about doing a run – a run that you introduced me to by saying it was always your dream to run it – because you can’t do 3 miles straight yet – TRUST THE PROCESS. 

No matter WHAT you are doing – if you have the plan in place… all you need to do is see it through and…

*say it with me*

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