That's the tagline to my favorite source of fitness inspiration: podcasts from EndurancePlanet.com. If you haven't checked them out, I highly recommend these short (usually around 10 minutes long) bursts of inspiration and training advice. Some of them haven't affected me too much but some have inspired me to the point of tears.
It's also the truth. On February 10, 2007 I crossed the line of the BE5K3.1 in 32:31. No, that's not a typo. I was ecstatic at running a 5K in under 33 minutes. I can't express to you how great it was to cross the finish line. I ran SLOW but I ran faster than I ever had before and reached my goal!
That moment has inspired me. I'm determined to get under 30 minutes in 2008. For non-runners, you may not understand how slow this is but let's just say, you can't find charts in Runner's World for how to train that slow.
It just doesn't matter. It's a thrill to cross the finish line anyway. The only person I was competing against was me! And I won! I set a personal best.
I challenge you! Pick an event in 2008 and start training for it. The best way to get in shape is not to focus on depriving yourself but instead to focus on becoming on athlete. Couch potatoes have trained for and completed the Boston Marathon in 9 months. My local running club has a Couch To 10K program. Maybe you are like me: old and slow. But you know what; I'm going to be faster in 2008 than I was in 2007. And in 2009, I'm going to be faster than 2008. You can do it too!
One piece of advice about running: learn to do it right. Most people think everyone knows how to run right. Part of why I have been slow is that I have gotten injured from running poorly. Most runners get injured because they run poorly too. To learn how to run without injury, check out Pose Running.
If running is not your thing: find something that is. Love to play tennis: join a league. Love to swim: get in a class. Do something! You'll be glad you did.
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