ON RUNNING REALLY FAST

Here's a very little known fact about me...

Ready?

One of my very FAVORITE things to watch is when an athlete wins. Not just see them make the winning shot, or get the hole in one. I'm talking about the moment milliseconds after that shot, or after landing that somersault, or hitting the bullseye. They get so excited and happy. They are blown away in that moment.  

You can see in their eyes that this one moment is a culmination of weeks, months, years, sometimes decades of preparation- and a coming to fruition of all the hard work they've put into their goal. 

I don't even like golf but I could probably cry in a second flat watching Tiger woods or Phil Mickelson win whatever tournament they're in. Every sport has that moment, and it is true to the word: Awesome. I love seeing people succeed. Part of what I love about it so much is that it is evidence that it CAN be done. I never get jealous of others' success because It is them showing the world that it CAN be done. Another part of it is that success is generally where God given talent and tons of hard work meet. 

I'm about to be a huge sports nerd so stick with me here-  there's a reason behind this. 

I read this very story once and I can't remember who connected all the dots or where I read it- please forgive that. But this story totally resonated with me. You can read an interview with Bannister here. 

In 1954 Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile barrier.

via

 Can I get an Amen? 

Who does that? 

(I ran track in college- but I made it a policy to never run longer than 4 minutes consecutively, and never run a distance further than 200 meters. I'm only half joking because I did a LOT of running at a distance longer than 200 meters in order to train for my sprints. I digress...)

When interviewed Bannister said: 

" It didn’t seem logical to me, as a physiologist/doctor, that if you could run a mile in four minutes, one and a bit seconds, you couldn’t break four minutes. But it had become a psychological as well as a physical barrier." Source

The following years many more people broke the 4 minute mile barrier. Why did they do this? What was so special about the years following? Well, the essay I originally read on this topic explained this: The following runners saw it could be done- and that simple fact- that it had been done before- provided enough of a psychological shift for those other runners to do so. 

THAT is why I love seeing people accomplish things. Because their accomplishments, their shining bright  is giving US permission to do the same. 

THAT is why I started blogging. Because I have gained so much by other women sharing their stories, by seeing other women do AMAZING things. 

THAT is why I set goals this year that seem impossible to me. 

THAT is why I pray for seemingly-impossible blessings for this year.

xoxo 

emily