I Did It!

My toddler is quickly learning that he can do things by himself that we have done for him in the past. Every time he does something independently he yells, "I DID IT!!" I realize I'm biased but it's the cutest things you've ever seen.

The other day I was thinking about how my exercise has changed over the years. I've always been active but I began exercising more consistently in college after I gained the freshman 10, then the sophomore...well we don't need to go into all of that. When I first started ramping up my exercise routine, it wasn't that successful. I could tell that I was building endurance but I didn't have a lot of fun while doing it. It wasn't until I decided to start training for races that I really appreciated and benefited from working out. I remember my first 5K was The Rex Lee Run, sponsored by the University. I felt so awesome as I crossed the finish line. I couldn't believe I had just run 3.1 miles. Over the next few years I graduated, started teaching middle school and ran more 5Ks. During my first year of teaching I ran the Moab Half Marathon. Once again I felt an awesome sense of accomplishment. I also started appreciating what my body could do rather than what it looked like. I was less concern about being a specific size and more concerned about pushing myself to get better and better. Since then I've run three marathons and a handful of other races. I've discovered that, for me, confidence comes not from what my body looks like but what it can do. When I ran my first post baby 5k, I felt like exclaiming, "I did it!" just like my toddler.

Yesterday I read a Runner's World article by Kristin Armstrong called,

Circle of Life:

Making peace with the aging process is easier when you're in motion.

My favorite line was, "It is the runner in me who will age gracefully. It is the runner in me who understands that the beauty of my body is in the things it can do, not the way it looks doing them."

I hope you take the time to read her article today and decide to feel good about yourself because of all the amazing things you can do.