What we achieve depends on what we believe

For those of you who don't know, I ran a half marathon on Sunday.  And very proud of my time I was too  -  2 hours 19 minutes!  But training and running this race reinforced to me how important our beliefs are in ourselves when it comes to achieving our goals.

Because I had run a half marathon already - albeit 20 years ago when I was at Poly! - I knew physically it was possible.  I ran a 8 mile run as well as a 10 mile run in my training which again reinforced my belief that I could run this race and finish without stopping.

Running past the 10 mile mark on the day was a real mental push for me, because I knew I was running further than any of my training.  And for the last 3 miles I was pushed along by sheer will power.  At the end of the race I felt like collapsing and knew I couldn't run any further.*

Many people have congratulated me on my run (and sponsored me too, hint hint www.justgiving.com/karenskidmore!!) which has been amazing.  But a few have also commented how mad I must have been to do it.  "The furthest I have ever run is 4 miles" one friend said to me.

But what we achieve depends on what we believe.  I was no fitter or slimmer or healthier or stronger than the friend who made the 4 mile comment.  The only difference between us was that I believed that I could run this half marathon and went out there and trained for the day.

I am reflecting on my business once again and I think there are some things that I need to start making happen :)  What about you?

* But I bet I could have if I believed I had to run another mile or two to complete the race!