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Health & Fitness

No More Excuses: It's Time to Make a Difference

Don't second guess your fitness level when signing up for a charity run or race. It's not about you. It's about making a difference!

 

Rising heart rate. Sweaty palms. Nerves. It was April 13, 2012 the day before I was supposed to run my first Rebel Race. Why was I getting nervous? Well,
to be quite honest, I hadn’t trained at all. This was my first time participating in a 5K event with military obstacles. I feared that I would not be able to complete the course. Four months had passed since I registered for the course. Four months where I could have, should have, trained. Now, one day prior to the event I began to ask myself “why didn’t you train?”

The reality of why I didn’t train is simple – time.  Not enough time in the day to train. Between work, raising a 10- month old son and balancing everything else life was throwing at me, there simply wasn’t enough time. Okay, okay. You got me. The truth is I could have found time. The reason I didn’t train is laziness.

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I consider myself to be in good shape. However, the Rebel Race is a competition. In order to compete, one must train to be bigger, faster and stronger than the competition. What was I thinking? I signed up for a race, with several of my colleagues from Performance Spine and Sports Medicine, and because I didn’t train, I was about to make a fool out of myself.

How many times have thoughts like these run through your head? There are hundreds of events like these each year within close proximity of where you live. Whether it is a Rebel Race, Tough Mudder, and/or a 5k or 10k run. Yet, and maybe I am falsely accusing, I feel many of us use the excuse that we are not in good enough shape to participate in events like these. (Actually, the excuse you tell others may be different, but the excuse for yourself is that you are not in shape.) Well, if you are able to walk three miles, fitness is no longer an excuse!

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I learned something very valuable from that Rebel Race. It’s not about me. It’s not about the race. It’s about making a difference.  The 5K race was not nearly as challenging as I expected. My colleagues and I did challenge ourselves. We ran (when there wasn’t a backup) and we completed every obstacle on the course.

However, there was no pressure to run and/or complete in every obstacle. In fact, if I had wanted to, I could have walked the entire course and avoided every obstacle if I so choose. And guess what, the end result would have been the same. I would have been outside in the fresh air, getting some type of exercise, and my registration fee would have still gone to a charity to help make a difference.

Now don’t get me wrong, these events can be highly competitive and a true test for one’s strength, endurance and self-discipline. This blog is not intended to undermine those who train and compete at higher levels. Your accomplishments are acknowledged!

The next time an opportunity presents to you to participate in a charity race, your fitness level should not be an excuse. If you are unable to walk the course due to a current physical condition and/or injury, schedule an evaluation with our team at Performance Spine and Sports Medicine so we can help you get out there and to help you make a difference.

Here is one upcoming opportunity for you to make a difference! Feel free to join PSSM’s team in the Relay for Life.

Here's a link with more information:  http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY12National?px=27791680&pg=personal&fr_id=36808

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