Am I strong enough? This simple answer I really want to say is yes, and then ask strong enough for what. I know I want to believe I am strong enough for anything. I want to believe that I am not only capable of being physically strong enough but also mentally strong enough.
I remember several years ago I was on a one-on-one run with Coach Paul. He was about to take a group to Sweden to run a marathon and jokingly he said I should come to Sweden and run the marathon as well. I told him not a chance. I had no desire to run a marathon. At this time I had not completed anything over a 5K and I was dreaming of the day I completed a half marathon, and here this crazy man on a bike at 5 am along the riverwalk is trying to tell me that someday I will want to do a FULL Marathon. He was telling me that someday I would want to volunteer to run 26.2 miles. Well…. he was right. I hate to admit that he was right and it has taken a long time for me to admit this, but I want to run a marathon and not just any marathon. I want to make my first one, an incredibly hard and hilly course with multiple bridges in it. I want to finish the 2020 NYC Marathon.
It is one thing to WANT to complete a marathon. It is another thing to believe that I can actually do it, and honestly, I am not sure I can. I do not know if I am capable of training that hard. I do not know if I am strong enough to carry myself both physically and mentally through all 5 boroughs of NYC.
Today, when watching the race at Mile 22 with Harlem Run, it made me realize that if I the thousands and thousands of other runners can be brave enough to try then so can I.
I do not know if I am strong enough. I do not know if I am capable of running a marathon, but I do know that I want to at least try to do it.
If you are reading this I KNOW that you believe I am strong enough and capable enough to do this. I know that YOU believe in me… I just need to figure out how to believe in myself for the next 12 months to make this happen.
