Only those willing to go too far will know how far they can go.

A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine, Ana Davalos, invited me out to speak to a group of people who were training to run on behalf of the leukemia and lymphoma society. It's certainly one of those win/win opportunities. They raise money to help fund research in finding a cure for this type of cancer and who knows what those findings could do in terms of supporting other cures. The participants get to do something that is challenging in two ways, physically by actually participating in the run and just as important the fund-raising part which may actually be the tougher part. The training certainly helps them get in to shape. It creates jobs for the people who actually work for the organization. It creates mentor and mentee relationships for the volunteer coaches and participants, after all besides the physical aspects of running long distances there's definitely the mental, emotional and psychological aspects which are just as, if not more, important. In many ways a win for many people involved.

That morning I talked a bit about "The Kim Family Mottos" which I will share with you at a later date. I also participated that morning on their eight mile training/practice run. We did three minutes of running followed by one minute of walking, and we kept on doing this until we had completed the eight miles. I gotta tell you it was more difficult than I thought it was going to be, but I did it. The main reason I decided to participate that morning was because I had been telling myself for a while that I was going to start running again, but for whatever reason I kept putting it off. What I do know is that a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step, but I also know that the first step can be and usually is the toughest. I figured that by taking this first step it would get me on track. Which is the first of three things I'd like to talk about. If you're having trouble getting started, perhaps you can create an opportunity to get you started. For me, I'm a bit of a performer, so when there are other people around, especially those I've told I'm going to do something, I do it. It's almost impossible for me to back out. The way you do it is not that important, it is to know yourself well enough to put yourself in a position of opportunity.

The second thing is the support of others, and utilizing it. The truth is that I hadn't run for more than one mile in over four years. Exercising has not been that high on my list of priorities. If left up to just me, I'm certain I would not have done those eight miles. What I realized that morning is the idea of strength in numbers. I got a ton of support from the other people who were running that morning. I got to support them back as well; however, not everyone finished the eight miles. Although the support was around them they either chose not to lean on that support or perhaps something was off for them that day. For me I was clear in my goal that morning, and that was to complete the eight miles, so I was going to lean on all of the support and coaching I could get. I certainly don't think I could have made it without it, but I'm equally as certain that I would not have relied on it without having the big goal in front of me. What occurs to me is that we all have a ton of support, but don't see it or utilize it because we're not up to anything that big. Perhaps some of us would rather complain about not having enough support than actually getting it done?

Only those willing to go too far will know how far they can go. As I stated earlier I was not in shape to do it, but until I took on the challenge I would never have known. There's theory and concept. There's also the truth. The truth is what is known only after the fact. In theory and concept I thought I could do it. The truth of whether I could do it or not would only be revealed once the challenge was taken on. I found out the truth that day, that as poor a shape as I was in I could run/walk eight miles. I also found out that it would take me about a week to fully recover. :) These are only things I discovered after the fact. From this experience, I believe that I can go even further and I believe that this was a valuable experience in going forward with my life. Of course that remains to be seen, though. Only time will tell. There's a profound difference between knowing about and knowing.

Until next time...

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