Here’s where I’m at… If you follow me on social media I’m sure you’ve seen in my stories, I started running 5 weeks ago. And if you don’t- are we even friends, seriously? (@hausofhorton) I started in a program that has taken me from “not a runner” to signing up for my first 5k and all the ups & downs in between. Running is a mental game for me- and I want to share the progress you can make in just 5 weeks!
Sooooo, I started on this journey because I follow @msrachelhollis (because women who uplift and empower other women are saints) anyway, if you’ve followed her for more than 3 minutes you’ve probably heard her talk about moving your body and why she started moving hers, but her story convicted me to the coreeeee 🖤
She began moving because she wanted to have more energy, she wanted to be able to run and play with her kids, she wanted to have enough stamina to coach women for long periods of time from a stage- and she couldn’t do that without taking care of herself. And wanting to also coach and influence women- I figure, if it’s working why reinvent the wheel- I can’t help other women out if I don’t have energy either…
The Not-So-Pretty Side of Growth
So here’s where my story begins: I gave up soda for Lent. And I was dramatic about it! What I am learning now that I’m out of the fog is that was I was addicted- severely- to Mt Dew and the synthetic sugars that were in it. I had NEVER been able to give it up before but I prompted myself “what if just ONCE you didn’t give up on yourself?” so I stuck it out (I’ll write more on this another time) BUT bringing this back to moving my body- I got to Easter and realized my body didn’t even want soda anymore. So then it opened my brain up to all the possibilities of things I had given up on before that really were possible.
My mind IMMEDIATELY went to running- but I had to completely break down the statement “I am not a runner” which I have clung to since I was a child in middle school. I participated in track in high school and I still claimed I wasn’t a runner. I was a jumper, a relayer, anything but a runner. But WHY? Let’s take a little trip back to when I was about 12 and we ran the mile in gym class- I proudly told my dad that I had run my mile in 10 minutes. He promptly responded with “what did you walk? when I was in bootcamp, we ran 8 minute miles or we got our asses handed to us.” And THAT was the moment I decided I wasn’t a runner. I was never going to be the best- I couldn’t even run it as fast as my dad- I’m just not a runner. Cue the limiting belief.
Circling back to Brittany version 2019- after lots of therapy I am more healthy mentally than I have ever been and I am able to look back and pinpoint exactly where my limiting belief came from so I can say “that was NOT your dad saying you weren’t a runner, that was your dad stating that he was in prime shape during bootcamp and they had standards to meet. You can run at any pace you please as long as you’re moving”
WOW! That was a lot to get to the point that I could start running- but that’s the REAL process that had to happen for me to get where I am today. It’s not to say I’m perfect, but it’s to say I’m progressing. I’m now 5 weeks in and encountered my second “hurdle.” A run without a walking break. Who knew it would create so much drama in my world.
The Program I Use
If you’ve made it this far- you’re a trooper. But here are the details of the program I’m using to take me from “not a runner” to signing up for my first 5k. I use the Couch to 5K app (C25K Free in the app store). But it is a free running app that prompts you to run 3 days/week. (I run 5-6 days but that’s because I really needed to create a habit of moving my body.)
BUT in the first week you start with interval running 90 seconds of running 60 seconds of walking and you feel like you’re going to die. THEN you get to week 2 and they’re like “run 3 minutes” and you’re all like “I was just dying running 1.5 minutes are you crazy?” but then you press the button and you do it and SHOCK the heck out of yourself.
Here I am 5 weeks in and getting to another hurdle- the dreaded “no more intervals of running and walking.” I naively ran 8 minutes straight the other day thinking “dang, this is a long 5 minutes” then the sneaky workout prompted me to look at the workouts for the rest of the week… HAHAHAHAHA week 5 day 3 was run 20 minutes straight. No thanks. I avoided it until the LAST day of week 5. And here I am post-run, not only proud to say that I ran the heck out of that 20 minutes but I also lived to talk about it. When the person in my ear said “one minute remaining” I had real tears and told myself “you can do anything for one minute.” Heading into week 6 believing I really may be able to accomplish anything.
We’re Better Together!
I’d love to cheer you on as you move your body too! Tag me (@hausofhorton) in your posts & stories as you’re moving! Starting a new program? Jumping on the trampoline with your kids? I am clapping for you!
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