Only You Can Label Yourself.

I received a text from my good friend asking if I would ever consider a guest blogger. 

My answer??  Uh, YES!!!!! 

So here is Kayla, and she has something that she needs to talk to you about.  So, listen up - she's pretty great. 

This topic will be part one of a two part series.  Read on, and stay tuned.

ONLY YOU CAN LABEL YOURSELF

We live in a society that likes to put names on things. Labels. Some labels are good, some can be hurtful, but all tend to limit us. When we let people pigeon hole us with what they think we are, we can go down a very dark trail.

 

 

I started running five years ago as a way to handle the stress of a tough work situation and my every day anxiety. All was well until I went to my first race. Apparently that made me a runner. I was excited about running, talked about it all the time. Non-runners think all runners complete marathons, so it wasn’t long until I was being asked when I was going to run a marathon. I’d been impressed with my 5K finish, but apparently I wasn’t really a runner if I wasn’t signing up for longer distances. Right there. That’s when I stepped onto that dark path.

 

 

Obsession over training for a half-marathon took over. I loosely followed training plans, but I’m not patient by nature, so I figured I could rearrange them to suit my running style. I could get quicker results my way. The only results I got were injury after injury. Academically, I’m a quick study, but when it comes to life, I am s-l-o-w. This cycle of training and injury (to both my body and my mind) went on for years. There were times I would decided to stop running altogether. It was making me crazy. A couple of weeks would pass and my anxiety would start to build. I needed the release that came with running.

 

 

Finally I injured my back to the point where I could barely get off the couch for months. This was not good for me. I gained weight, and my anxiety was through the roof. So, when I was back on my feet, naturally I overdid it and hurt my ankle, BUT this was the turning point. I almost lost it when I realized I was about to lose running again. I took a step back and realized I was a runner no matter what distances I covered. I was runner if I chose not to race. I was a runner because I liked to run, needed it for therapy. In that moment, I truly became a runner because I had labeled myself.

 

 

Since then I have discovered that I have to use walk/run intervals to stay injury free. I waffled for a moment about whether or not that made me less of a runner, but then remembered I get to choose who I am. I am a runner, and no one can take that away from me but myself.