In August 2022, I took part in a half-marathon with my significantly faster sister, Heidi. I think it is important to note here, that I am not built for running. Not in terms of the physical body (any body can be a runner’s body if the mindset is correct), but in terms of (agh!) this feels horrible and I do not want to do it anymore. Needless to say, I thought I did not have the mindset for it.
Heidi and I were chatting one evening when I was visiting her and her kids who I absolutely adore! The photo below indicates exactly how much I adore being woken up at five in the morning for “cuddles” which loosely translates to getting kicked a lot.
Anyway… We were chatting and she asked me to run this half-marathon with her as support and because “it could be so much fun!” I immediately said no. Heidi proceeded to buy me a pizza and ask again, and my answer quickly turned into a “sure, why not? What is the worst that could happen?” Cut to a couple of training weeks later where I had pulled a muscle in my quad, was sick as a dog with a sinus infection, and was cursing pizza for making me compliant.
We had set up a training schedule that started small with 5kms and gradually got longer and supposedly faster until it reached the 21km that we would run at the event. Every run that I did, I gradually felt myself getting fitter, however, I still was not enjoying the actual run. I ran mostly in the streets of Stellenbosch while Heidi ran in Cape Town.
Then one day I decided enough was enough, I would enjoy myself in this next run. It was 15km and the furthest I had ever run at the time. I was tired of feeling like running was beating me up mentally and I knew that if I did not change how I viewed running that I would never be able to complete the half marathon. This led me to choose to be happy and grateful that I was able and that I was supporting my sister. That was the first time that I experienced a runner’s high and let me tell you, it feels fantastic. Nothing hurts, you feel as if there are endless possibilities in front of you and you can reach all of your goals. Endorphines are something else! I felt I could run the entire 21km then and there, but I wanted to save it for the day.
This run was the start of my own personal enlightenment. I realised that if I can choose to look positively at running, I can choose to look positively at everything else. All of a sudden, my university work was enjoyable, washing the dishes started to feel like downtime where I can chill, cleaning the house became a game to make my place fresh and enjoyable for myself, and even sitting in traffic became a good time to think. Even in the midst of my injury and illness, I acknowledged it as a time to rest and a time to allow my body to build its energy back up.
Changing your mindset from negative to positive does not have to be a difficult feat. It just requires making a decision and looking at why you are doing something in the first place. Yes, washing dishes can be icky, but afterward, you have clean dishes! And you can use them to eat delicious food! It is not unrealistic to think as an optimist. At the end of the day, hope is what keeps us ambitious.
