INSIDE YOUR HEAD

It has been another busy week. It began with triathlon swim class @ 6:00am on Monday. I  alternated my morning workouts with group strength and boot camp and after class I head off to work.  I made one exception to this routine . After much debate, my friend Denise and my co-worker Dayle opted to do The Starting Block's Resolution Run 5K in Springfield MO on Saturday morning. So I broke my workout pattern on Friday where Denise and I arrived at the gym @ 6am to sit in the hot tub. I know, I know, why would anyone get up early and go in just to sit in the hot tub? The thought behind it was to give our bodies a break and a little pampering before the next day's 5K. Besides, as busy as we are, we rarely get to take advantage of the hot tub, steam room and sauna that our gym offers, so why not? It paid off. We arrived at our 5K Saturday morning at 8:00am fully refreshed. The weather was calling for rain and thunder showers all day. It was 43 degrees and the dark gray sky looked as if it could burst forth a hard, runner torturing rain. There were 330 other brave (or some call us foolish) souls to run as well.  When the gun went off I ran away from my two friends Denise and Dayle. I had decided to give it my best to see if I was getting stronger.  So far to date, my fastest 5K PR is (don't laugh) 28:31. As I was running the last mile and struggling every step I began to focus on what I was thinking. I found that I was saying to myself 'No, I can do this.' and 'No, I won't give up.' Every time that I thought these thoughts I realized that I instantly wanted to stop and walk the moment that 'No' came into mind. So I consciously started thinking 'YES, I CAN do this.' and 'YES, I am going to PR'. About a half mile from the finish line, a young lady, whom had kept the same pace as I, breathlessly said , "I've been pacing with you, you are carrying me through, please get me to the finish line." She was struggling just as hard as I was and using me as her gauge. I wondered what the dialog was inside her head. I turned to her and said, "Hang on tight, I'll get you there." And with that, we picked up our pace and crossed the finish line together. I was thrilled to see that I had PR'd with a time of 27:10!! While we stood at the finish line waiting to get our chips cut off our shoes my fellow runner gave me a hug, thanked me and introduced herself as Cassie. She said that when I took off in the beginning, she had made it a goal to keep up with me. Had it not been for me, she said, she would have never made it to the finish line in that time. I was thrilled. If your a runner, then you can relate to the bonding that takes place at these events.
After it was all over with, I pondered the importance of the dialog that each and everyone of us has inside our head on a constant basis. This dialog, if not consciously thought about, can be very detrimental to us.  It can keep us from doing our best. Had I not realized that the word 'no' was triggering a negative response from my body, I probably would have given in. By consciously thinking about what we are thinking, we can change our destiny. We can even change little things, such as a PR in a 5K. I had no idea that another person was counting on me to get them to the finish line. Had she not said anything, I would have never known. So I ask, you the reader, to take a moment in your day to day activities and think about what you are thinking.  Think about how your body is responding to your thinking and then you have the power to think differently! You may never know who is counting on  you to get them to the finish line!
Namaste' 
P.S. After the race they had drawings and gave away random prizes. My number was drawn and I won a massage and acupuncture! I gave my appointment away to my hubby, who opted to stay at home because of the forecast. He loves massages. He later showed me how grateful he was- It's all Karma my friends, all karma ;)