The First Mile

The other morning I was on the elliptical machine reading about female runners who had lost a significant amount of weight running when I read this quote and it hit home like crazy.

"And even now, the first mile is still the hardest."  TRUTH.

You should know that this morning, as I sat down to write this blog (it's been on my mind since I read the article), I realized that I was being hypocritical.  I could not write to you about the lesson unless I was willing to learn and live it myself.  So, begrudgingly, I slipped on my running shoes and my Garmin and set off on my first long run since the BSC Half Marathon.  It was a run I knew I needed to do, but I kept putting it off and putting it off because I also knew it would be hard.  And, it was hard....for at least the first 2 miles, it was hard.  But then, like it always does, the run stopped being so hard and started being a great.  After I finished,  I was so happy to have run and I couldn't remember for the life of me why I was putting it off.  That's the thing in life, the first mile is always the hardest.

 

The hardest part of any task ahead of us is just the getting started part.  I have been running for years, logging countless miles along the way, and never once has the first mile been easy.  Okay, who am I kidding?  The first three miles have never been easy.  Getting started is always the worst part.  The miles ahead are always daunting and intimidating.  No matter how many long runs I've made, there is still a voice inside of me asking, "can I do this?" 

 

Here's the thing, yes.  Yes, I can do it.  And, you can too.  No matter what the road ahead of you looks like, take the first step, make the move, commit to getting through the first, hardest part and before you know it, you'll be on the other side of it.  You can do anything you want, need, or have to.  You just have to decide you can do it and take that first terrifyingly hard step.  I promise you, after that step, they each get easier.