The Courage To Start

One of my favorite things about blogging is how much bloggers care about each other! The more you read about someone the more you feel a connection with them and before you know it your virtual relationship is just as tangible as those of your high school groupies. Such is the case with my dear friend Nina and I. We met online last July and have become fast friends. It was as a result of this sweet relationship that I received my first ever blog gift! She read about my interest and excitement in regards to running and triathalons and sent me John "The Penguin" Bingham's The Courage to Start: A Guide to Running for Your Life. I love to read and this book has done terrible things to my sleep and homemaking schedules. I went to bed 45 mins late to squeeze in a little bit of reading, I woke up early the next morning to read, I read on my lunch break, I read after work, I went to bed 30 mins late to read... it's getting bad. Luckily it's a pretty short book so this shouldn't be the case for too much longer. A couple of things that I have learned from my reading so far:

"Joan Benoit-Samuelson, the U.S. women's marathon record holder, talks about how, as a new runner, she would stop running to pick flowers as cars passed by her because she was so embarrassed by how she looked. I never allowed my eyes to meet those of other runners, because I was afraid of seeming like an impostor. In time, though, those fears subside. In time, as you begin to realize that it is the quality of your effort that matters, failure becomes unthinkable. How can you fail to become yourself? Every runner has to take that first step. Each of us is our own way has had to find that courage. So can you."

"Whether you're a new runner of an experienced runner, buying the correct shoe is probably the most important decision that you will make. What's more, it's a decision that you have to make over and over. A shoe that works for the first six months of your running life may not work as you improve, get faster, or start running longer distances."

"Plan your runs on the basis of time rather than distance. Plan to get out of the house for a certain amount of time. Forget how far you go. Forget how fast you go. Just get out the door and stay out."

"I didn't realize that our bodies are wonderfully adaptive. Almost as soon as we begin to alter our level of activity, our bodies begin to change. If we continue to require greater strength or greater endurance from our bodies, our bodies will adapt. Whether we accept it or not, the bodies we have are the products of what we have required them to be."

"Your unique combination of heart and lungs and arms and legs is the same as every great athlete's. When you see people who appear to be stronger, or fitter, or healthier looking, don't be fooled into thinking that their bodies are structured any differently than yours. They may look different. Their random assortment of body parts may be arranged differently than yours, but they are not different."

"The body's number one job is to keep you alive. Our bodies trust us. If you put too much food into your body, it believes that it's getting more food because you KNOW that there is going to be a food shortage. So your body starts stockpiling food. Your body stores the excess food as fat."

I am just now getting to the ultra-inspiring part so I'll post more on that later. Who knew we all had so much athletic potential?!