Who or What Inspires YOU?
Today I want to share with you what some of my clients have shared with me when I asked what inspires them (i did get permission to share this info). I was blown away by the emails I received and thank you for sharing. So much of what I read was a good reminder to appreciate and be grateful everyday! Furthermore, reading the emails reminded me this marathon training aint so bad afterall.
If running and training for a marathon is the hardest challenge I have to face in life, then I’ll take it!
PLEASE feel free to share your own story or share who it is that inspires you. What inspires you may also inspire others, so please share if you desire. For many of us currently in marathon training this is good timing as it can provide an extra boost of inspiration to get out the door and run.
I’ll start it off with a quote from Dr. Phil:
“This is your life. TAKE CHARGE now! Live it with purpose, joy, passion, and curiosity. You are the one to create the plan and you are the one who will make the action to achieve the results. This is your life. Go for the highest and best and don’t forget to enjoy the richness of your journey”
Below I share pieces of the emails I received from my blog readers and clients:
- I have been accepted into the Nike 2010 women’s in San Francisco as my first full on Oct. 17 I want to run this in honour and in memory of my nephew who died at the age of 17 on Oct 17 five years ago.
My nephew, Curtis, was born without a left ventricle. At his birth they gave him six weeks to six months to live. Despite that he thrived. He had four open heart surgeries in his first three years of life. ‘ At the age of ten, on Christmas morning Curtis had a massive stroke. He had to learn to walk, talk, eat, live all over again. He lost the use of one hand permanently and many things he use to do he no longer could do. He came home from rehab, took his bike for a ride, put it away, and in many a way put away his childhood at a very young age. Curt went to school Oct. 17, 2005, and walking across the school ground with his best friend, collapsed and died instantly. Curt did not back down from a challenge. He found a way over, through, or around it. He impacted more people in his short life then most people will in 70 plus years
-What inspires me? Good question. I just get a natural high off of this and I love testing how far I can push myself. Before I knew about endorphins when I was little and upset I would run as hard as I could and instantly feel better. I still do this to this day. Runners also get a respect from those who can’t do this. My friends tell me I am nuts but admire how I do it. All in all running is something I really enjoy and do well and I would say this keeps me wanting to never stop running. It is not about winning to me it is about saying I crossed that finish line and never gave up.
-I am a musician. In my 20′s I was having some issues with my hand and saw an orthopedic surgeon. She was quite taken by my double jointed hands and assessed my body. Turns out almost every joint in my body ‘suffers’ from ‘lax ligaments’ or what we call double jointed. She also explained how the ligaments support the frame and told me I would be riddled with arthritis and not to be surprised if I was in a wheelchair by my forties.
As I went through life I started to have aches and pains. My spine was the first ‘official’ diagnosis. From there I woke up one day and could not move a finger – arthritis. One day I could barely rotate my hip – I was told arthritis. I was convinced that running was totally out in my life in fact I considered myself totally ‘non athletic’ … I just wanted to keep moving. Eventually I was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia which is a malfunctioning of the facial nerve. It is known as the most painful affliction to man and ‘the suicide disease
I also realized that when the things you take for granted – the simple things like laughing or eating or blinking without pain – when those things become huge monsters that overcome you and are impossible, well you have a choice. You can curse God and die or take Him at His Word and fight! Somehow there was something in me that said fight.
I still live with trigeminal neuralgia but I am over 90 percent pain free from TN. Yes I have the dysarthria from my first surgery but I can eat again, laugh, smile … live.
-Staying fit can be expensive, so when I lost my job last year, I had to make my routine affordable. Now, one way I stay in shape is running around the reservoir at Central Park twice, which is about three miles.
-I usually run the first half of the marathon and run-walk the last half. It gets harder to run 26.2 miles at my age, but I’m inspired by the memory of friends I’ve lost.
-I run in honor of my brother-in-law who was in Tower 1 on 9/11
-I always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to run a marathon. However, I never saw myself as a runner because I was 30lbs overweight. This Fall I will run the Portland Marathon. After a doctor visit and being told I wouldn’t live to see my kids go to college if I kept eating junk and not exercising is all it took for me to hit the “register now” button.
-I’m an occupational therapist so spending all day with people who have to relearn to walk and function made me realize how lucky I am to have a body and legs that work, so go run a friggin’ marathon and quit whining.
So, there you go. These are a few of many, many reasons why people run and run a marathon.
As for me, I run because I refuse to let disease enter my body. My grandparents, who I loved and cherished, both died before the age of 70. Unfortunately, they did not live a healthy lifestyle and it caught up with them.
Heart disease runs on my moms side of the family and my mom had a heart attack at age 64. The doctors said she survived because she is in such good shape with a strong heart. Fighting genetics would be another reason why I run.
In 2007, I ran the NY Marathon with the Pat Tillman Foundation. I remember getting to mile 21 and feeling like crap. I really wanted to stop and I was telling myself “this is too hard”, “I can’t wait for this to be over”, then I took a quick glance at my Pat Tillman shirt and quickly reminded myself this marathon is nothing in comparison to what this man did for our country. Besides, as soon as i finish I get to take a nice long shower and enjoy a big dinner. I”m sure he’d love to trade places with me.
Now, its your turn. Leave your comments below and deliver the inspiration!
Posted by admin | in Marathon, Mind Set, Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Though it’s not a perfect inspiration, my wife and kids are often what I think about when the going gets tough. A lot of my motivation also is internal, wanting to do better, be healthier.
Having run for 40 years (started senior year in HS in 1970) it’s so much part of what I am that I rarely think about motivation. However I’d say it is probably just to stay healthy and fit, not gain any unnecessary weight and to have fun with my running friends. And to try to beat some long-time (friendly) ‘rivals’ in the next 5K!