The 20 Minute Run

Back when I was in high school we had this fitness test that we were forced to do in phys ed class. One component of the test was a 20 minute run. I hated this event. We would do this at the school track and the idea was that we would run in circles for 20 minutes as the teacher counted our laps as we crossed the finish line. At the end of the 20 minutes our number of laps completed (to the nearest quarter lap) would be used and then a subsequent grade would be assigned.

I was not out of shape but I was also not an athlete in high school. When we began the athletes would take off and make the rest of us feel inadequate. A lap or two in they would lap me, making me feel even more inadequate. I would usually hear the teacher calling me a sissy as I crossed the line with each lap. In the end, 6.5 laps was a good run for me, but only got me a 65% grade, go figure.

Looking back I think this was one of those moments in life where I decided I was not a runner, and furthermore not an athlete. That paradigm has been carried with me for many years. Whenever I saw others running I would say, "I am not a runner, that's not for me".

So now it is 20 some years later and I decided to start a healthy lifestyle again. I have been running and cycling every other day and losing some weight as well. I went to the track this morning to jog a 5k loop, my furthest continuous run to date. After a few laps I said to myself, I wonder if I can do 10k non-stop? The humidity was low, I was feeling good, why not? In my mind I knew why not, years of me telling myself that "I am not a runner"!

Lap after lap passed and I continued to tell myself that I could do it. An hour and seven minutes later I had completed my first 10k run.

I am a runner. I always have been and just didn't know it. The mind is a powerful thing.