Tuesday’s Training Tip: Get over your fear

My first 5K Race. (I'm on the far right.) I was scared!

Beginning running can be scary, I will admit.  There are so many unknowns.  You might wonder if running is something you should even try.  What if it hurts? What if I’m not very good at it?  What if I don’t love it? Having questions is no reason to avoid trying.  My mother used to tell me, “You’ll never know unless you try.”  Well, I tried and now I know.

I guarantee it is going to hurt.  There are a lot of things in life that hurt, many of them should be avoided.  However, there are many things that cause us pain that actually improve our lives.  Running is one of those things. I expound upon this subject in depth in my soon to be released book, The Hard Run: Painful Lessons from a Running Granny.

You very likely will not be good at running – at least not at first.  That’s okay.  You weren’t good at walking or crawling when you first tried those things, but you didn’t quit.  Give it some time.  You may never be a fast runner, but you can be a stronger runner and stronger person if you stick with it.

You may never love running. Even if that love does happen running often takes a little time to grow on you.  While you are waiting for that fondness to develop you might as well keep running, because it is good for you. I often say, “I don’t love running.  Running loves me!”

I am certain there are more questions that soon to be runners may be pondering.  Anticipating what could go wrong is often more terrible than the actual activity.  So give it a go.  “You’ll never know unless you try.”

If you are still afraid, you can contact me and I will see what we can do to chase that fear away! Comment below or message me on Facebook.

Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Happy Running!
Carol - aka Running Granny Green

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