This is my long-term fitness goal. I made this goal years ago when I was going through my Wellcoaches training to be a Certified Health & Wellness Coach. I remember writing “I want to be able to run on the beach when I am 70” in the margin of my pages. The funny part about this is that I was not a runner. Was is the operative word here. I have since become a runner! Woop Woop!! My first race was the Princess Half Marathon at Walt Disney World in February 2012. Now you might be thinking, I can never do that – run 13.1 miles or you might be thinking – is she crazy? Her first race is a half marathon. I’m here to tell you, you can do anything you set your mind to. If I can cross the finish line standing up, you can too!
What’s interesting about this journey of becoming a runner is that I have learned that I am a Disney runner. (We are a Disney Family. We are in our happy place when we are on vacation at a Disney property.) I just love the atmosphere of a Disney race and I get excited about the challenge of completing a 10K and half marathon on consecutive days. And I just love having the time to stop for pictures with Disney characters during the race. Planning for stopping is actually how I do some of my training. How fast do I have to be to be able to stop for a picture with Minnie Mouse or more then one Princess? Waiting for Minnie Mouse in one of my races was a 25 minute wait. So this takes planning and training. A Disney race has a pace requirement and I am not a fast runner so I have to train accordingly. I really don’t enjoy running just any half marathon or 10K. I have done a few non-Disney races and I don’t find any fun, joy or satisfaction from them. I am a big believer in doing what makes you happy, so fewer races overall but a single race a year at Disney makes me happy.
The other thing that I have learned about myself is that my long-term goal is not, I repeat NOT, enough motivation to keep me running three days a week. I need more and really, I need a race to train for.
I did my last race in November 2017 and since then I have been out of my running shoes more then I have been in them. I can find any reason to not go out in the cold or rain or heat if I don’t have a training schedule. I always wonder if I will actually put them on again. I also wonder, can I still call myself a runner? And I have decided, the answer is yes! I own running shoes and I use them to run some weeks once, some weeks twice, and lately that is all I get to, but I am still a runner!
Because I now know what motivates me, I will be registering for my next Disney race in November and the official training will begin in July so until them, I will lace up my shoes to get myself back to 3 days a week. My goal is to finish as always, standing up!
Here’s to your fitness, your motivation and your success! ~Amy