Lake Calhoun - Round 2

2 weeks ago I ran around Lake Calhoun for the first time. It's a little over 3 miles around. I'd never actually ran the whole way around (without stopping), so I was pretty proud of myself. That Saturday I ran with a bunch of TNT members. It was good to meet some new people and it seems to help to run with others.

This past weekend not many people showed up for the run. Although the temperature was in the 20s, the wind was pretty bitter. Halfway around the lake most of our group peeled off to run some hills. I was feeling intimidated about making around the lake again so I kept going by myself. Despite the cold temps there were a lot of people out running and biking. I passed the time around the lake watching and listening for other runners and walkers and bikers and trying not to look at my watch or my heart rate monitor. I just wanted to keep going.

I'm not going to say the run was easy or that it didn't hurt, because it did. But as I was coming around the west side of the lake, back to the place where we had started, I couldn't believe I was actually doing it. I was running around the lake, by myself, in the middle of the winter, no less. It was hard, but it wasn't impossible. It did hurt, but it didn't kill me. So as I was coming to the finish I started wondering why I thought I couldn't do this? And then I just got mad. Why did I tell myself, and everyone else for that matter, that I couldn't? And how many things have I not done in my life because I have told myself that I couldn't? How do we prevent ourselves from living our best life because we have a crappy attitude?  I wonder how our lives would be different if we weren't always telling ourselves or our partners or our kids that we can't do something without even really trying?