a good runner

Melbourne was awesome. Melbourne was just the way I remember her. All of the hidden cafes and restaurants, and the same feeling of being completely comfortable with being just me. This time around it was about work, catching up with friends in amazing restaurants, and training around the tan track. It was the training, and the time to myself that gave me this.....

I sit in the airport waiting to board my flight, fresh running book in hand, and an awesome weekend of great training. Last night was the women's Olympic marathon, and I received a text firstly from a great friend, who enjoys running herself. She tells me that one day that will be me she is watching on television. Not long after I received another message from my coach asking if I was watching it, and if I was inspired. My eyes were glued to the television, as I watched their faces, listened to the crowd, watched their techniques, and dreamed big. I could not wipe the smile off my face.

I wake up in the morning and find another message from my ace friend, Karen in the UK. She has been sitting watching the Olympics on the big screen in the park. She says she wants to be sitting there watching me.

There is something about having a dream so big that a part of you says, "what am I doing, dreaming this big?" Then there is this part that says, "why not live this dream?" I read books full of inspiring running stories, dreams lived, and dreams people hope to achieve when it comes to running. I find a lot of runners have always run. Competed in a lot of races, run as teenagers in running clubs. Where as I haven't always ran. I ran quite young, although, I ran just for the love of it, and for me. Does this in itself kill my dream? Some might say it does, and some might say I don't have a chance. Maybe I don't, although, I don't think so. It is the power of the mind, and positive thinking.

A simple car ride to the airport and I start talking to the driver. I tell him about my training around the tan track, as we drive past. He told me that I should be in the UK, not here running. I tell him my big dream. He says to me, "if you believe and really believe it, you can achieve anything." {what my mum always said to me}. He continued to tell me a story about his greyhounds that he has and races. He had one that was said to never be able to run, and compete in races. He believed that one day this dog would run. He told me with persistence, and believing his greyhound would run, helped his dog race, and in turn come out a winner. He said, this can be you too.

Yesterday was my long run day. I knocked 9 minutes off my race time in the Gold Coast. That was a personal goal I had set to do within six months. Instead I achieved it in 6 weeks, and on a long run. A long run, you are out there enjoying yourself, not trying to achieve anything, except the feeling of loving what you are doing. I did all of that, and achieved a huge goal. You could only imagine the emotions I felt. I sat on the bottom of the shower floor crying, laughing, and smiling big. I had done something I wanted to achieve, and now I work on the next goal. 

On Saturday I had blisters from the night before wearing my boots out to dinner. I walked the almost 6 kilometres back to my hotel barefoot. I received smiles, random looks, and above all, I did not care. All I cared about was the fact I had a long run the next day, and I wanted to run.

Both days, the choice of no shoes to minimise discomfort for my run, the 9 minutes knocked off my time on my long run, the emotions themselves, made me realise I am a good runner, not just a runner. A good runner.

We all have dreams. Some we live, and some we don't. My plan is to love lacing those shoes up, love what I do, race more, and achieve all I can for as long as I can run. The dreaming, well I believe that will come, it may change, and it will be achieved in more ways than one.