We CAN Do Hard Things

The marker for mile #8 was a few blocks behind us when I heard this:

"How's your knee?"

"It hurts, but I'm going to do this!"

We turned around to look at the two women running behind us.

My running mate (Amy) gave an encouraging smile, and said "Yes! We can do hard things!"

The woman behind us with the knee brace on laughed and smiled.

And she kept on running.

We finished a half marathon that day.

I beat my goal by 8 minutes. And my legs have never been so tired in my life.

I never in a million years thought I'd sign up for something like this. Even though I've been running for 9 years now pretty consistently.

The furthest I had ever run before was a 10K (6.2 miles).

But a half-marathon? 13.1 miles...what was I thinking?!

I know what I was thinking.

That this woman inspired me to push myself to do one of the hardest things I've ever done...physically at least.

She's amazing. Life has thrown her some major curveballs and she powers through every single one of them. With grace and style to boot.

I'm proud to know her.

Life is hard. There are a lot of really difficult situations we have to find our way through.

Surrounding ourselves with people who build us up is one of the best ways to help us do those hard things.

You don't have to run a half-marathon.

Sometimes it's just getting out of bed in the morning.

Putting one foot in front of the other.

Making that career move when you know you're not in the right place.

Struggling through the changes that come with the ending of a relationship.

Disconnecting from that toxic environment.

Taking care of a sick loved one.

Finding time for yourself to just breathe.

Those are all hard things.

But believe me, you have it in you to do them.

And if you need someone to encourage you along the way, let me know.

Thank you to everyone who supported me.

For every voice I heard in my head cheering me on as I pushed myself mile after mile.

And for the bottle of champagne at the end.

We CAN do hard things friends. I'm living proof.

And so are you.

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Or find my book at Barnes and Noble

And at our local Oconomowoc Bookstore - Books & Company