I Can Do Hard Things

I have always hated running. Don't get me wrong, I love sports and being active, but for some reason running is my weak spot. I can do most other physical activities pretty, well, but running has always just scared me. I was always a sprinter being good at running super fast for shorter periods of time. I remember in 8th grade we had to run a mile in PE class. We trained for it and it wasn't so bad. The girls and the boys ran at separate times which made it a little less intimidating for me. When the time came to finally run it all out, I led the girls for the first couple of laps. I was an extremely competitive person and I was feeling good about myself for the time being. But then I started to get tired. For some reason, I could never push through those moments. It was a struggle to keep myself going, although I did well and finished 4th out of all the girls in the end. Not too many people passed me, but still, I wonder what would happen if I tried harder? What would happen if I pushed myself a little more?

I went snowboarding about a week ago with some people from church and with the cheap lift tickets we got, I was content to practice switching to and from my toe edge on the bunny hill with all the other beginners who came to Brighton. And then I decided to try one of the bigger runs with a friend. I was so proud of myself that I was able to keep up all the way to the end on the first run. Working out at the gym regularly has been helping, I thought. Then during the second run, I found my thighs starting to burn and I couldn't push through it; I had to stop a couple times, and I even got stuck in some flatter areas once or twice. I decided to go on a third run and by that time, I found that I had to stop nearly every 200 to 300 feet or so to rest my muscles. Seriously, I wasn't sure if I was just so out of shape in those areas and simply could not handle the workout or if I just was too much if a chicken to just go with it.

My little sister and I snowboarding at Mountain High in Wrightwood, CA - Jan 2009

Thinking about these physical challenges I face, particularly in the area of running, got me thinking about Condoleezza Rice's forum at BYU last month again (see, I told you I'd revisit it!). There was one part of her address in which she talked about growing as a person through taking on our challenges and doing hard things. "If you love to write, take more math. If you love math, take more writing," she said. It is more fulfilling to master something that is hard for you than something easy. This is such an interesting approach to life. I feel like this is what is lacking in society today. So many people specialize in very narrow fields, and so many people simply like to do what they are good at. It makes sense! No one likes to do things they aren't the best at. Perhaps that is why I have always failed at running for longer than a half mile at a time. I know I am not good at running, therefore I avoid it like the plague. But how is this approach going to help me become a better person at all? I can't improve much if I don't address the things I think are most difficult for me to do in life. And running is one of these things.

It's so interesting to think about how much society has changed in the past  few hundred years or so. People used to do hard things regularly; it was a way of life. People did what they had to do to earn an income and make a living, and before that people did what they had to do because of the social class they were born into. If your parents were farmers, chances are you would have to learn how to farm no matter how difficult it was for you. If you parents were the King and Queen of England, you had to learn to be a politician despite any other desires you had in life. In a sense, we are lucky to live in a time when we get to choose what we will and will not do with our lives. We have countless opportunities to choose from in this regard. So why does it seem that so often we are choosing to do the easy things? Going back to Rice's talk, she recounted a time when she was helping a little girl with a math assignment, and when the girl got the answer wrong, she told Condi that "there is no such thing as a wrong answer." I think this example captures the essence of the lack of will and drive to do hard things; our society is increasingly becoming one of instant gratification more than ever before. People want the answers given to them for the difficult things in life. Again, I have to ask how does this make us grow? How does this make us better people? We need to push ourselves in order to accomplish more in life. Granted, we live in an age where people know a lot.We have access to more information than ever thanks to the internet, and we are able to learn and produce things of all sorts at an astounding rate. I know so many smart, talented people, and yet it feels like we are not living up to our full potential in society because it is so easy to stick with the things we know best. Imagine the things we could do if everyone was learning and performing to their utmost capacity. The possibilities for a better world would be endless! As much as I hate to admit it, I have contributed to this mentality of doing just what you are good at. I don't like to fail. No one does. So on an individual level, can I make any sort of difference? Would I be able to change other's lives by improving my own?

This semester I have decided to learn how to run. I have been running on the treadmill several times a week doing interval training since I don't think I can bear to run for long periods of time in the gym, and I hope to be able to improve my abilities in this area. Earlier today, I saw a banner somewhere along a road on the way to campus advertising the Provo Marathon and Half Marathon coming up in the beginning of May. It also advertised a  5K race and and Half Marathon Relay (2 person). Initially I thought it would be good to try the 5K to have something to work up to, but the more I think about it, the more I want to try the half marathon. I have enough time to practice for this, if I can make time for running. And I think if I start to run outdoors rather than on a treadmill, I will be able to acheive more. I guess I'll practice running for now, and we'll see where I am by the end of March. If I'm ready, I hope to register for the half maration. 13.1 miles isn't too bad, right? If not, I am determined to at least find a partner to try the relay with. 6-ish miles for each of us should be relatively easy. I'm excited to set this goal, but I hope I can keep up with the training it entails! After all, running is in my blood. My grandpa made headlines in Ohio running from Columbus to Cincinatti nonstop, and my dad was a track star growing up. Maybe if I try hard enough I can be a runner, too.