13.1 to 50K-A Leap of Faith

2 years ago, if you would've told me I could run a 50K, I'd laugh at you....

Sure I'd been running for years and years up to that point, but I was getting injuries at a 10K distance so why even push it? I wasn't "built" for running marathons and such.

I'll never forget the evening though, sitting with my husband at the computer 2 years ago debating on whether or not to register for my first half marathon. 13.1 miles! The longest distance I had ever ran at that point.  Hey, I had given birth to another human being, I could run for more than 10 miles, right?  I remember feeling crazy nervous and anxious. My husband, Doug, just kept telling me "push the button" "you can do it, just try". 

What was stopping me?  Fear? Self doubt? Injuries?  Probably a combination of it all.  I had fallen on my face so many times in the past whenever I had tried something new.  It seems whenever I had tried to run more than 7-8 miles, something would hurt.  Well screw it, I'm going to take the plunge.  I pressed the button to register and the confirmation popped up on the screen.  Holy crap, I'm actually going to do this.

I didn't really train for the 1/2, but I did make it up to a 10 mile run before the race...and I did end up injured.  I was introduced to my IT band for the first time and what an ugly injury that is to have.  I did tons of research on it and decided to run the 1/2 with the injury wearing an IT band strap. I finished my first half marathon in 2:06 and the feeling crossing the finish line was incredible. I had just accomplished something I thought I could never do and with an injury!  So what was stopping me from trying to run farther? Nothing anymore...I'm going to run long distances. Including a 26.2!

1/2 marathon done-June 2012
Full marathon done-October 2013
Ultra marathon done-April 2014

So what is it that stops us from pushing ourselves more? Fear of failure? What exactly is failure to you? It's just a bump on the road of this crazy journey called life. It makes us stronger and wiser. It exposes our true selves in ways we couldn't see otherwise.  I'm not afraid of failure anymore. I'm running my 7th half marathon this month and my second full marathon in May.  I've gone from half marathoner to marathoner to ULTRA marathoner in less than 2 years.  If I can do it, anyone can.  It may not look pretty and I surely didn't "fly" across the finish line in my first 1/2 and full marathons(more like limped, haha)But I have grown so much as a runner and as a person in general.  I'm so happy I took that leap into the unknown and faced my fears. 

In the words of my daughter's favorite movie, Frozen:

"It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small and the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all."