You ever notice how life gets a little boring when you don’t have any way to CHALLENGE yourself? I certainly have. That’s why I’ve set some challenging goals for myself and am DOING something about achieving them.
For instance, this past Saturday, I came one state closer to to living dream #90 on my ‘111 Until Heaven’ dream list. This particular dream is to compete in some sort of competition in all 50 states.
Here are the races I’ve completed so far:
- Marathon in North Carolina.
- Half-Marathon in Maryland.
- Marathon in Virginia.
- Marathon in Illinois.
- 15k in Florida.
- Marathon in South Carolina.
- 15k Trail Race in Georgia (just completed on June 5!)
I gotta tell you…I thought I was in shape–until I hit that trail in Jackson, Georgia on Saturday.
The heat and humidity and hills and rocks and mud and roots made my toughest marathon seem like a lovely jog compared to this single-lane trail. At least I was able to stay in the shade of the woods most of the race. I’m not sure how long it would have taken me to run if I had to deal with the direct heat of the sun!
Before I started, my goal was to finish the race in an hour and a half. I didn’t exactly hit my time goal. My pace was about a minute slower per mile than I was able to run on the trails around home, so I finished the 9.3 mile race in 1:40:31 instead of the 1:30 time I anticipated.
I did hit my goal of FINISHING the race to the BEST of my ability. This race wasn’t easy for me, but I LOVED the challenge this race provided. It gave me a chance to push myself and find out just how tough I am. There were times I felt like quitting, but quitting wasn’t an option. I had a goal—to finish the race—and I was DETERMINED to do whatever it took to accomplish that goal no matter how sore or tired or worn out I was.
What have you done to challenge yourself lately? Leave a comment and let me know!
To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean
P.S. It turns out my time was good enough for a 4th place finish in my age group. Now I’m hooked on trail races because I’ve discovered they provide a new and different challenge than regular road races.
The next one I have my eye on is this Navy SEAL Extreme Challenge in Tennessee in October. Now this is a challenge:
http://www.smokymountainendeavors.com/SEAL_Extreme_Challenge.html
