The 3km get us to the story of how we started running. And talks about fear of the unknown and how you can always with the right preparation should try new things and challenges. Challenge the status quo.
In our case our status quo was running at home very comfortable with air conditioning in a treadmill. So this time, I told Linnette that we should try something new and go for an actual race. Even though we did not considered ourselves runners we wanted to try something new and experiment with an actual race.
So we looked for the shortest race we could find. A local race was offering a 3km route, which is not that usual and a regular 5K. We went to our 1st race and as newbies in the business started our 3km course. Not being aware and knowing the instructions (study the route, know where you are running, etc), we missed the 3km return and ended up doing a 5K in almost 50 minutes. A little more than 9 minutes per km, for us was a great accomplishment at the time and proof we were actually runners.
And the strong lesson we learned was that growth is going to happen when you dare to change your status quo. Actually we haven’t ran before for more than 30 minutes and maybe occasionally 35 -36 minutes, yet our body was well trained and prepared for more.
Many times at work we don’t go for the new role or promotion because we think we are not ready yet. Truth is we have been preparing for maybe 2, 3 years or maybe a little more and precisely is this time doing and preparing that enables us to tackle into new ventures. Not having done it before doesn’t mean you are not capable it only means “you have not do it before”.
Think of a baby and how many times he starts doing something from scratch, crawling, standing up, walking and then running. Do you think he shouldn’t do it because he hasn’t done it before.
Precisely my lesson and recommendation to you is,
- Always try new things. You may surprise you to learn new abilities or develop ones you had on stand by.
- Don’t settle for status quo. It’s amazing how many different ways to see a problem are, look for new perspectives, try new conversations.
- Hear your fears, but don’t let them stop you from trying.
Linnette and I already ran 3 half marathons and we started as the couple that was going to run 3Kms after 40. So don’t hold yourself.
I hope you already started walking, running or writing as I’m doing. Let me know how its going. What do you like, about what you write, and keep pushing yourself, try new things and lets meet by the 4km.
Running Lessons 