Give yourselves a chance to be heroes

You might have heard these famous words spoken by Rafa Benitez to his Liverpool team at half time of the 2005 Champions League final even if you’re not a Liverpool (or football/soccer) fan. If you’re not familiar with the story, Liverpool were trailing Inter 0:3 after the first 45 minutes, but, incredibly, scored 3 in the second half and ended up winning the game and the title after the penalty shoot-out. “The Miracle of Istanbul”. This post is not about this match or Liverpool or Rafa or even football, though. It’s quite mundanely about me and my story of becoming a 5k+ runner out of nothing. Within the space of a few months.

Actually, the blog post was going to be about something else. But then I realized that running might be the most relevant message I have to share right now. You see, I always wanted to be a runner. Not to be fit or healthy or active. Well, that too, but I just feel that it’s just a great way for being alone with yourself, hearing yourself out and organizing things in your head. You don’t really get to do this, do you? Anyway, I always wanted to run and I never could. Never. No matter how fit or unfit I’ve been, as a child, as a teenager, in my twenties… I could walk endlessly at a decent pace, I could bike, but when it came to running 1k or more… no way.

So, when I got myself a pair of running shoes this summer and downloaded 5k Runner, I was 100% prepared to fail. 5k Runner introduces you to a very basic interval training. On the first day, you have to run for 1 minute 6 times with 1.5-minute walking breaks in between. I wasn’t sure if I could do it when I stepped out of my house on July 11^th this year. Over the next few weeks, there were quite a few other moments when I simply did not know if I could. On the 31^st of August, though, I ran my first 5k. I’m in the middle of the 10k Runner programme now. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I need to give credit to the app, which I found very well put together. More than anything and more than ever before, though, I believe that success comes from your head. I found the perfect balance of being determined to succeed and being prepared to accept failure. Every time I stepped on the track, I told myself I would do as much as I could and it would be okay if I couldn’t complete the programme. The latter gives you the freedom to quit without being too disappointed in yourself. The key is, you really have to give your best. Do not quit because you’re a bit tired or something hurts or – worst of all – because you are sure you won’t be able to finish. Quit when you simply cannot take another step. And the, if you can, give it another shot after a while. Give yourself a chance, every chance.

A lovely little detail of 5k Runner are the daily doses of inspiration and motivation that it gives you. Aren’t you glad you decided to change your life? You are much stronger today than you were only a month ago. Tremendous happiness comes from achieving your goal! Call it tacky, if you like, but it’s actually all true. And it’s not even about running or sports. It’s about deciding to do something you want to do and doing it. Step-by-step. Trying, at least. What do you have to lose? Unless you push yourself too hard or set truly unrealistic goals, you are guaranteed to feel better about yourself, just because you tried your best.

If I can run, you can do... well, not anything, but many things. Believe in yourself. Give it a shot. Give yourself a chance to be your own hero.