What are YOU capable of? (guest post)

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Please to enjoy the amazing blogging wonder who is KAT.

Did you know you are capable of more than you think? You are.

I never used to think I was capable of much. I knew I was good in school and things like that, but never set many lofty goals for myself. I always viewed myself as no one special from nowhere special.

I guess it was about the time I married my husband I began to realize there was more to me than I had ever given myself credit for. Little by little I started stretching, reaching, stepping out of my comfort zone a little.

Running was the first area I experimented with. I was NEVER a runner. In school when they had us run the mile I had to walk most of it. I just never thought I could. It wasn’t me, it wasn’t included in how I viewed myself.

I. Was. Not. A. Runner.

I had been playing at running on my treadmill and although I ran slowly I could run a mile or so. So, I set a goal. Actually my sister set me a goal. I had mentioned to her I might like to try a race…she emailed me and told me we were running a 5k and I’d better get training!

I set my little research-loving self to work finding a training plan online. I trained. I ran a 5k. The entire race I was telling myself in my head that I couldn’t do this. But I did it. Ran the whole thing! I was elated at the end.

I had set a goal and killed it. A fire ignited in me that day. I realized that I am capable of far more than I’d ever imagined.

Since that time I dabbled in some really tough workout DVDs just to prove I could workout HARD. And, yes, I can do that too. Each new challenge brought more confidence in my abilities.

Then, last year I had my craziest idea yet. “I want to run a marathon.” I said to myself.

“Say what?!” I replied back to myself.

Again I utilized my love of research. I scavenged the net for training plans for beginning marathoners. I went to the library and checked out every book they had on running marathons. Now, jumping from a 5k to a marathon is sort of crazy and I don’t recommend. But for me, it was something I needed to prove to myself.

I researched and researched, I bet I read 15 books on training!  Then, I found a marathon in Colorado! I started training.

“What the heck do you think you’re doing?! You can’t run 26.2 miles?! You aren’t a real runner! Chicks that weigh 185 lbs do NOT run marathons!” my head kept telling me.

But I kept training.

Up and down the road I ran. I signed up for my race. I kept training. Each new long run was uncharted territory.

Could I run 6 miles? 8 miles? 10 miles? When I got to 20 miles I just knew I couldn’t. But I did.

I had some ups and downs in my training, hurt my hip, overtrained, learned tons, and ran my race.

And no one can take that away from me. I. RAN. A. Marathon.

Since then this fire has spread to other areas of my life.

It’s new and foreign, but I embrace it. Don’t let that naggy voice in your head hold you back. You really can do anything.

I know we hear that all the time. But do you believe it? You should.

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Comments

  1. I absolutely agree! One thing I learned from losing almost 140 pounds is that I am capable of achieving anything if I work at it. And if I’m capable, so is everyone else!

  2. Wow, that is the story of my life! I was the last to be picked in gym class in h.s., and by the time I got to college, I had gained the freshman 15 and couldn’t run a mile. I started training a little bit at a time to prove to myself that I could do these things that no one thought I could. I was known as the nerd. My family didn’t have confidence in me that I could do these things. They said, “Oh Nicole, you aren’t the athletic one. That is your sister.” I surprise myself everyday. Who would have thought that the girl who was the last to get picked for everything in P.E. and who did not make it on the swim team would be training for a half ironman and a marathon with times in the top 1/3 of the fitness community? And, I actually get picked to be on race teams now. 😉

    Thanks for your post! It is nice to know I wasn’t alone!

  3. This is major, major inspiration for me that transcends running/fitness goals!! I had my first two children in my early twenties, so I NEVER had time to focus on myself or my own goals. Now that I am older (*cough cough* 37), I feel like I’m just beginning to LIVE!! This post is extra wind in my sails!!

    Thank you Kat! xoxo

  4. Congratulations. That is excellent.

    Yes, I do listen to that voice. I’m learning to tune it out almost as well as I tune out screaming kids. I’m practically deaf now. Imagine me in a few more months!

  6. My story is similar (and I also did the 5k to marathon thing and don’t recommend it!). Three marathons later I do sometimes still listen to that voice, but not nearly as often. It can be hard to tune it out but OH so liberating when you do!

  7. OMG… you are amazing. I mean… a marathon is a serious distance. I did a half marathon which was huge for me and thought I should do a marathon. I simply don’t have the time for training for a marthon and it is a mind boggling distance to me. I do relate to your post as it is an incredible feeling to be able to run any distance at all and to me running is like life. It brings joy, humbles you on some days, some days increases determination to do better… running and life.. you keep learning every step of the way.

    For me the best part of running is the child-like joy it brings to me.

  8. “Now, jumping from a 5k to a marathon is sort of crazy and I don’t recommend.”

    Oops! 😛 Actually I’m learning that, since I’ve only run a 5k so far and I’m signed up for a marathon in October (OMGSHIIIIIIIIT!)

    Great post, and yeah, you are awesome! 🙂

  9. Kat, what a wonderful story! And my motto has been as well, your body can do way more than your mind says it can. Looks like you got your mind on your side! Congrats!!!

  11. LOVE this. I feel the same way. We are SO MUCH MORE capable than we think we are… if we can change our mindset, we can accomplish amazing things.

    And the question to ask, when we DON’T accomplish amazing things, is: “Do I actually WANT to accomplish it?”

    I firmly believe that those are the two key parts to accomplishment: understanding that we are capable of it, and really WANTING to do it.

  12. What a great dose of morning inspiration! This is something that I’ve been slowly trying to learn. I’m getting it little by little, but it’s nice to see how it applied to you. And congrats on the marathon.

  13. I really just want to hug all you commenters. I love this little community we have here and love that I can find people in it that relate to me.
    Steve, you can dooooooo it!

  14. I love this little community we have here and love that I can find people in it that relate to me.

    this weekend at Fitbloggin I heard the phrase TRAFFIC IS KING! bandied about a great deal.

    Not for me.

    Not up in herre.

    Community is QUEEN.

    Thanks again for the great guest post.

  17. Yay Kat! Love the post! The phrase “…no one special from nowhere special” is precisely how I have viewed myself for a long time…still do sometimes. But something is changing inside. Inspiration and confidence are building…through my weight loss, through my accomplishment of goals, through my own running training…and through awesome community with awesome bloggy friends like you! THANKS!

    Holly @ Making Over Me
    @bloggymama

  18. Thanks so much for this pep talk, Kat! I am about to sign up for a half marathon and I am sick over it, but excited at the same time. Does that make sense?! My longest run has been 5 miles, but as you said, I know what I am capable of!

  19. Great post! I’m working out more than I ever have, but I still have that voice in my head that says I’m not a runner. Still not sure if I want to explore that…maybe hiking!

  21. Kat-

    This is just what I needed to hear today. I’ve been dabbling at the running thing on my treadmill, thinking that maybe I can do it. My husband came downstairs and saw me the other day and said, “Hey, you’re running!” I couldn’t help but smile a little. Maybe I am a runner-not so much marathon material yet, but maybe I can run like a princess someday…

  22. I honestly believe everyone is Marathon material. It’s not some special gene some are born with. It all boils down to whether we really WANT to, or not. And either is OK. It is a huge time commitment, if that’s not for you, great, but if you really do want that accomplishment, there is no reason not to do it!

  23. That was so motivating. I am at the point right now where I feel like I am not capable. Thank you for the reminder that I AM! 🙂

  25. Thank you for this post! I’m going through that exact same thing NOW. I’m training for a 4mile race in Central Park and was never very athletic or a runner. I’m planning on running a marathon in 1.5 years. That’s when I think I’ll be ready. And I think it’ll change the way I look at myself just as you did. It’s inspiring to know that it did translate into other areas of your life as I am hoping it does for me. Again, thank you for sharing this!! 😀

  26. Kat is great and I love her blog. I didn’t know she ran a marathon! WOW!!!

    True. We are capable of so much. Our bodies don’t hold us back our minds do.

  27. I couldn’t agree more … we’re all capable of so much more than we think we are. I’m planning on running in a race in the fall, only an 8k, and this posting is putting that fire in me to sign up today. Thanks, I needed it and appreciate it. Personally I’d love to try a triathalon some day, in time … in time.

  29. Great post, Kat. We ARE capable of so much more than we ever give ourselves credit for. I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish the first day of C25K without puking all over myself, but I was wrong. By leaning over, I puked cleanly on the sidewalk and didn’t get a drop on me!

  32. Right on, Kat! The marathon is achievable for everyone!

    So . . . when will you be doing your first triathlon? 😉

  34. That’s incredible. I’m planning to run the San Diego Rock ‘n Roll Marathon next year but who knows if I’ll find one earlier and run that. Running my first 5K in 2 weeks and then a 10K the month after that. Yay for running 🙂

  35. Kat- your posts are amazing. You should think about being a motivational speaker… (PAUSE)…I guess you already are one though. Every time you write a post, I’m inspired. I love your can do attitude, your positivity (same thing?) and your ability to bust through a perceived wall and show us all how it’s done. You’re the bestest!

  36. Great post. Congrats on the run!

    I never thought I was capable of being a mom. Now, here I sit feeling little kicks coming from within me. I’m a mom and I haven’t even met her yet.

  38. Hi, Kat! Beautifully written guest post today! 🙂 I know exactly what you mean; not through running a marathon, though. Dang, girl!

  46. One of the best posts ever. I love the sincerity and the drive you have given yourself and others to remember that they process in themselves.

    I think a lot of times we short-cut ourselves, believing that we can only do so much. In reality we can do so much more. We, actually, can do anything we set our minds to. Life is a mind game and we just have to know the rules and how to play to win it.

    I ran my first marathon in Oct. 09 and hope to run another one soon. Congrats on your run (and future runs). We can do anything, can’t we?

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