My entire life I’ve told myself I can’t run. Maybe it was the 20-minute mile I ran when I was an overweight adolescent. Or the chaffing I used to feel on my inner thighs anytime I moved my legs at a faster pace. Whatever the reason, I’ve avoided running long distances for years.
Even as I transformed my body and became educated in fitness and health, I still stayed away from long distance cardio. Over the years, I built an appreciation for runners and their mental and physical toughness. I’ve interviewed marathoners, studied the best way to build mileage, and even coached and trained people to run races (yes—they were successful).
But no matter how much I learned, I refused to shift my own long-held belief: I don’t run. That is, until I realized my own foolishness was blinding my ability to become better.
This past weekend, I returned to running and participated in a 5K for the LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin. My efforts were in support of the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s fight against cancer. At LIVESTRONG.COM, we focus on helping you improve your life through fitness, nutrition, and motivation. We are a healthy living website designed to help you create your own success story. And through that focus, we hope to inspire you to live a healthier life, and by doing so try to prevent diseases like cancer. The race gave me the perfect “excuse” to question my long-held beliefs and end my running hiatus.
I won’t lie and say I prepared. While I consistently train 3 to 4 days per week (and teach fitness classes), I can’t remember the last time I ran longer than 40 yards. My preferred form of cardio is sprint intervals and weight training complexes.
But there I was in Texas, pounding the pavement and finishing the race among thousands of participants. It was a special feeling to be part of an incredible event and see so many supporters and survivors joining together to run. But just as important, I found that my mind—and not my body—was my biggest enemy.
My 5K exerpience was a great reminder about the importance of challenging your beliefs. Many times, we hold onto our thoughts either out of a desire to be correct or an irrational fear that cripples our ability to live strong. Stubbornness does not make you smart or mean that you're correct. And fear is only a problem if you refuse to challenge it. Life is about learning, trying new experiences, and applying the lessons you learn to create a better life. It’s why I recommend that you occasionally step outside of your comfort zone, whether it’s with your workouts, your diet, or your beliefs of what you can achieve.
As you move forward, I encourage you to rethink and question how you approach your health. It’s the reason why we’re creating content that touches on a wide variety of topics, like “The Most Shocking Diet Myths.” I’m not saying that your open-mindedness must always end in change. Sometimes your long-held practices really are the best way to go. But you’ll never know the far-reaching limits of your potential if don’t challenge what you believe is true. To do that, all you need to do is have the courage to take the first step. Only then you can discover just how far you can truly go.
- Adam Bornstein
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