just believe

"Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself." 

 - John Bingham, running speaker and writer

I have recently volunteered to be the Administrator for our local community Fun Run. The really cool thing about the fun run is not only the course - 10km and 3km along the pristine foreshore area of the Sunshine Coast, but the fact that is run by one of the smaller schools in the area as its main fundraiser. It is organised and run by moms and dads from the school. .... as I said, pretty cool!

One of my duties as the administrator is to make sure there is some sort of an announcement in the weekly school newsletter. There are only so many ways you can put a reminder in for the date and that registration is open before it gets boring and people stop paying attention. So, I decided to put in weekly inspirational running quotes or training tips. It was a lot of fun trawling the internet looking for inspirational quotes and I came across far more than I will need. The quote above is the one I put in earlier this week (pre-Boston).

What I love about this quote is that it can be applied to anything. Running, cycling, rock climbing, surfing, skateboarding - anything. It doesn't really even have to be sport related. I think this message is one that needs to get out there to more people - we need to really believe in ourselves and that with the right tools and within the right environment, we are capable of doing anything we set our mind to.

A perfect example of this for me was a few days ago when I achieved something that I didn't think I could, and something that I was scared to try because I feel old and broken. In my CrossFit class I did my first solo, unassisted handstand against the wall and was able to hold it for 30secs. This may seem like nothing to some of you - but for me, it was a mental issue of me thinking that I could not do it. That if both my legs were airborne at the same time I would crumble to ground. The more I thought about it the more my anxiety kicked in and a huge mental block wall was erected whenever this exercise came up. But I did it! Finally! The first few were assisted with a 'spotter' - but now I can do them! I am still a bit hesitant, but I have confidence in myself and the strength of my shoulders to hold me up and not let me fall.

My other big achievement was something that I have spent a month working towards. I did know I was going to get there, but when I did I ran around like the gym like a giddy little giggling girl. This was the toes to bar exercise - where you hang from a pull up bar and swing your feet up to allow the toes to touch the bar between your hands. Slowly, slowly I worked on this starting with knees to chest and found that I could get a nice rhythm happening, and then the other day BAM I did it!

So - believe that you are young enough. That you are old enough. Strong enough. Be confident. Surround yourselves with supportive people of like minds and never give up. You can achieve anything you set your mind to if you allow yourself to BELIEVE.