How to raise your bar and push your limits

When I first started running, I never thought that one day I would run a marathon. Initially, my goal was to run a 5k. Once I was able to comfortably run 5k, I changed my goal to 10k. I was intrigued by the idea of trying something new and more challenging, however, it took me a while to decide to run my first half marathon. The idea of running 13 miles and a few months of training didn’t sound like a thing for me. Too much time to invest. However, I was curious, and I wanted to push my limits. I thought this was an exception, still doable, but I was convinced the marathon wasn’t something to take into consideration. I had an initial aversion to long distance runs, because of the higher risk of injury. Too much stress on the musculoskeletal system; it was a no, no. Then, motivated by a group of friends, I finally decided to run the NYC marathon, because “I live in NY and it’s on my bucket list”. This is what I used to say when somebody asked me why I wanted to run the NYC marathon. “When I finish the NYC marathon, I’m done” I thought and I was convinced. The story turned out differently. As soon as I passed the finish line, I felt a big sense of accomplishment that suddenly I thought “what is next? This is not the end”. I didn’t know what, but I was sure it wouldn’t be the last one. It was like a sort of addiction to push my limits and try something more challenging. Maybe it’s a running bug, what I’m sure is I wanted something more. After a few months, I was intrigued by the triathlon. I was already a runner and biker, why not a duathlon or triathlon? And I did it.

I believe that every physical activity is fun and offers opportunities to challenge ourselves and push our limits no matter what! 

Possibilities are endless, the important part is to know our direction and always raise the bar. Kids love running and enjoy doing several different activities at the same time. It's when we become adults that we tend to slow down and, as we get used to a more sedentary life, we tend to stay in our comfort zone. We lose our childish attitude to experiment, try new things and push ourselves beyond our comfort zone. I’m not saying to start out of the blue with a marathon, but my suggestion is to slowly raise the bar, wherever you’re today.

If one day we say “I'm done, I have reached and accomplished everything”, it’s because we have decided that this is our limit. The potential of our mind is unlimited, so, if you want to achieve anything, it’s not impossible, but you need to keep pushing and move forward to the next level. You don’t need to climb Mount Everest or run a marathon; you can start with something small and slowly move forward. 

If you want to progress and improve your fitness goals, I suggest figuring out what you want next, set specific but realistic goals, and progressively move toward them. It’s fundamental to slowly push yourself a little bit above where you are to avoid boredom and find more excitement. The novelty gives you more excitement and the joy of a new chapter. Is it an extra mile or a few more reps at the gym? It doesn’t matter. When you know where you want to be and have set your goals, focus and dedication will help to achieve them. In all of this, the tricky part is to break your goals into small pieces. To avoid burnout or injuries, progress slowly; the steps don't have to be big, actually, the bigger, the more challenging and harder are to achieve, but small and constant steps are the ones that make you progress. I’m a big fan of baby steps; in fact, you don’t run a marathon without training, and, before starting a training, you have to build a base, and, before building your base, you need to run one mile. Everything starts with one small single step and one after another you will achieve your final destination. 

In conclusion, if you want to improve your fitness goals, always keep resetting and challenging yourself, trust the process, and never give up.


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How to run mindfully