If It Was Easy….

During the past three years, I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to meet lots of wonderful folks who have inspired me in more ways that I can count”¦ and one of my new friends is a teacher from New York named Kathleen Pantaleo. She had some running questions so she emailed me and we chatted back and forth and soon discovered that we were both educators.

Recently I found myself in Philadelphia at an educational technology conference and lo and behold”¦Kathleen was there, too. We got the chance to meet for coffee and chat about running and about what drove us to run”¦and for both of us, cancer figured into the story, as it had touched family and friends.

I offered Kathleen some tips about getting started and then she shared something that a running friend said to her”¦something that has stuck in my head ever since”¦something that is so simple and eloquent that I thought it worthy of a blog”¦.

Running”¦if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

I think most of us would agree that, regardless of whether you’re trying to do your first mile, your first 5K, or the Goofy, running isn’t easy. Many of us on Team AllEars have shared the numerous things that inspire us to run – for fitness, for weight loss, or to raise money for breast cancer research. Coming up with reasons to get out there and run isn’t difficult, but taking those first steps”¦.and getting back out there day after day to train isn’t always easy.

Every day that I wake up with plans to run, it’s difficult. I can think of 100 reasons not to drag my bottom out of bed: I’m tired, I deserve to sleep late, I have a busy day ahead of me”¦.it’s not simple.

When I get to the track or the running trail, I can think of 100 more reasons why it’s not a great day to run”¦it’s too cold, I didn’t wear the right socks, I feel a little sore, I don’t have enough time”¦I struggle with these thoughts every single time I start.

When I first start running, these thoughts often challenge my success again”¦my running belt feels funny, my muscles take a while to warm up, I can’t seem to find the right song on my iPod.

Every single time I start I have to overcome many mini obstacles. But you know what happens? After the first mile or two, I’m having a wonderful time and I’m also so pleased with myself for getting out there. The bottom line is that I’m never proud of myself when I talk myself out of running, but I’m always proud of myself when I get out there and do it.

So folks, I’m here to tell you that running isn’t simple. Whether you’re experienced or a novice, the biggest battle that you’ll have, in my opinion, is not necessarily getting to the start line of your WDW race, it’s getting out to train a few times each week.

For the first time in my writing career I’m about to tell a story about Oprah, but here goes (bear with me, there is a connection to the topic here, I promise): Years ago I remember people criticizing Oprah when she lost a lot of weight. They said, “Sure, if I had a personal chef to make healthy meals for me and I had a personal trainer come to my house every day, I could lose weight, too.” Her reply was simple, something to the effect of, “Sure, I have lots of resources, but I’m the one who has to choose to eat well and to get my bottom out of bed and exercise each day. No one can do that for me.”

Bravo, Oprah!

Each of us has different resources and different challenges. Maybe you’ve got an athletic build or maybe you’re really overweight. Maybe you have a supportive family or maybe you have people offering you nachos and cheese for a snack every day. Perhaps you’re coming back from an injury, or maybe you’re just plain scared to death about taking that first step. In the end each and every person reading this has their own hurdles and can make 100 excuses.

Running isn’t easy”¦.if it was, everyone would be doing it.

Find that thing that gets you out there each day. Find that thing that convinces you to make better choices at meals. My personal mantras to overcome the hurdles are, “I deserve to be healthy. My kids deserve a healthy mom who will be around for a long time,” and “I am doing this for my mom and all the others who have been affected by cancer.”

Running isn’t easy.

Don’t do it for me”¦or for Oprah”¦do it for you.