Dan
| Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tags: Wellness
"Live Well" - Running
I was fairly active in high school and college. I was a wrestler, so I had to stay in shape in order to compete at a high level. Back then, it was easy to exercise and stay fit because I had a goal: “Don’t lose.”
After I stopped competing in athletics, I kind of took a break. For several years, I didn’t exercise at all. I was still in pretty good shape, but “wellness” was not top of mind, so I slacked off and started focusing almost exclusively on my marriage and career. Those are important roles to play in life to be sure, but I didn’t have the balance in life back then that I strive for today.
One day, about 30 years ago, a longtime Chick-fil-A Operator named Wayne Farr challenged me to run in the Peachtree Road Race. For those of you who are not familiar, the Peachtree Road Race is an annual event that is held each July 4 in the city of Atlanta. Today, more than 60,000 runners from all over the country participate, and it has become somewhat of an Atlanta institution.
I didn’t give much thought to Wayne’s challenge, but I agreed to run with him. For the next several weeks, I began to “train” for the race by running a few days a week before or after work. As Independence Day approached, I became more and more worried that I wouldn’t be ready.
Could I do it? Would I even finish?
Well, I did finish. And in doing so, I was filled with a sense of accomplishment that I never expected. Not only had I made good on the challenge, but I also proved to myself that I could do something difficult and become a better person because of it.
I learned that I have the capacity to do a lot more than I give myself credit for, and I began to ask myself, “what else in life am I FULLY capable of doing that I do not allow myself to experience?”
You see, running and exercising and pushing yourself to do hard things isn’t just about becoming more physically fit. That is absolutely important, but there are also mental hurdles that we can leap when we put our bodies to the test. I have found that building a mental inventory of positive experiences – like the sense of accomplishment that comes from reaching a goal – can help us to dream even bigger dreams.
Since that July 4th morning 30 years ago, I have made running a critical part of my weekly routine. I’ve run in countless races – and even completed a marathon a few years ago.
Are you pushing yourself to live well? How can you start, today, to make wellness a more important part of your life?