In my  running “career” I  have logged thousands of miles.  I’ve run 12 marathons, a bunch of trail races, Ragnar Relay races, halfs, 10K’s, 5Ks and many, many, many long training runs.

And while there’s nothing like the feeling of crossing the finish line of a race, I will never forget the feeling I had when I ran 5 miles for the first time.

We had a training run along the Great Highway in San Francisco.  Our team met at the Beach Chalet for a warm up and then we went out along the Great Highway towards Sloat, turned around and came back.

At these early stages I held a Walkman and listened to a Bare Naked Ladies cassette.  “It’s been, three days…”.  So I plugged in and plodded on.  And I do mean plodded.

I came in second to last on that training run and I was hot as balls because back in the early days I wore long black leggings, a long sleeve running tee and a windbreaker.  But I have never felt so accomplished and proud of anything as I was when I finished that run.  FIVE miles.  I had just run FIVE miles.  That single run gave me confidence, a mental boost and some swagger for my training.  And to this day when I think about that run, I smile.  And it gives me encouragement and strength.

This is why I’m such a big cheerleader for people who are doing “a thing”.  I know that once you tap into a small success, it leads to other successes.  I’m also a HUGE advocate for setting goals.  Because when you reach it, there’s nothing like it in the world.

So do me a favor, drop me a note or comment on any goals, athletic endeavors or things that you’re working on.  I’m behind you 100%.

Now go run!

Keli 🙂