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5/7/15

Struggles struggles

Hi!!! 😊


If you've been following my spur of the moment snapchats you know that I have started running. For those of you that don't really know much about me, here's one very important thing to know- I hate running. Always have, and always will... Or that's what I used to think, until, last week.


I have always been active, played sports my whole life. You name it, and I've done it... I even cheered when I didn't speak English (talk about commitment 😂). From soccer to tennis, from ballet to jiujitsu...I've done a little bit of pretty much everything in my 26 years of existence. However, one thing I have NEVER given into was running. Omg, what a struggle it was to have to run around the field before soccer practice for absolutely no reason other than... running. I felt like I was running after the wind and I absolutely hated it. But the funny thing was, that as soon as there was a soccer ball involved, I could run the entire game without any struggles, I was a midfielder after all so I had no choice. Gosh, It was such a mental thing for me, I truly struggled with it. 

Long story short, I never ran. Ever. I mean it, never, ever, ever. Like, EVER. And not only that but I never saw the point. I just always felt like unless you were running after something or from something it was just absolutely pointless and I truly believe it could not have more affect on your body than an actual workout session. 

Well, I was wrong. 

And the only way I found that out was by actually running. My personal trainer Vida Sanchez at S.W.E.T. always told me, if you run 1-3 miles a day your body fat will go down the drain so much faster than you can imagine. So I decided to give it a try. I signed up at the local gym (because I used weather amongst all other situation as excuses to just do it) and started going in and hitting the treadmill. 

Omg, I hated it even more. I absolutely despised it and couldn't go further than one mile jogging, not even running. I just thought it was an impossible task for me to run 2 miles let alone 3.

Well, last week the weather was so so beautiful here in nebraska, and after a long winter I just couldn't imagine wasting one nice day out. So my boyfriend asked me to go for a run with him and after a lot of convincing we did it. I remember being very clear that, "if I have to walk don't even try forcing me to run" & bla bla bla, pretty much saying whatever I had to say to get him to give up on the idea. I was being so negative about the entire thing, I was hating the experience before it even started. But he didn't give up and so I put on my spotify TGIF playlist and off to hell I went... 

We started to jog and I realized that I was completely NOT out of breath, and that I was keeping up with his pace pretty darn good (or he was slowing down for me, who knows)... That's when my mindset started shifting from hating it a feeling of "I can do this"... "Not bad camila"... "He's not even going that much faster than you"... And then all of a sudden he says "1 MILE DOWN!" And I literally had a smile on my face immediately because I had NEVER ran a whole mile like that at a good pace without one walk or stop break!!! That's when I knew everything changed for me. 

Now, I went from hating it to competing against my own mindset. I started to just try to ignore any negative thoughts that came my way and when I felt hat I wanted to stop I would sprint even harder and then walk it off for a few seconds... And it was amazing how my body had the ability to et right back into the groove... 

That was the first time I ever ran 2.5 miles!!! 😀

I felt extremely accomplished when I was done, and words cannot express how proud of myself I was... Not because I did a great job or ran super fast, but because I allowed my body to do what it is capable of doing. I allowed my body to take over my negative mind and let it do its thing. I was so proud because instead of finding so many excuses like I used to do, I found the will instead. 

It truly is amazing what our body and minds can do if we let it. And you may ask, how do I let it?? Well... For me it was by starting. Literally. I started doing it without setting huge expectations or limits for myself. 

Then I just allowed my body and mind to appreciate the benefits of running. I remember I was so negative about I the whole time, and when I was done I felt so good and only positive vibes surrounded me. It was an amazing feeling. 

The next day I just did again, no expectations no pressure, I just put on my headphones on TGIF playlist and took off. 

And today for the first time I ran 3 miles!!!!  This is SUCH a milestone for me because I couldn't NEVER imagined I would ever be going out for a 3 mile run just because... But I guess after experiencing the benefits of it in my body and mind it would be silly of me to not keep at it. 

If you guys have struggles and you'd like to share them please email me your situations or comment, I would love to know what yalls struggles, how you deal with them or if you need help dealing with them... I'm sure there is always a way out of every situation, doesn't matter how silly they seem to you, whatever makes us feel better and live a more positive life should be treated as important (if not more important) than other material things. 

There is never a small struggle and I would love it for this to be a safe place where we can share them with one another... 😘😘😘

...and remember,

You always have the opportunity to be a light in the world!

Much love,      
Camila Nakagawa

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