Daring to Dream and Daring to Do

Have you ever woken up in the morning and wondered, “Is this really it?  Is this all there is?  Is this all that I am meant to be?”

I know I am not the only one to experience these questions, to wonder if there may be more to life than what I am experiencing right now.  I know I am not the only one to wonder if I could be more than I am at this moment.

I spent years trying to make changes, only to find myself stalling out with distractions and excuses.    Finally, I found myself fed up with the questions and the excuses.

I took a look into my past, searching for what had left me feeling happy, alive, and confident when I was younger.  What I found was sports and fitness.

So I took that and ran with it.  Quite literally.  My goal, to play soccer again. You know on a real, live team.

I first hired a personal trainer to motivate me.  Not only would I have someone pushing me once a week, but I knew that I would work out during the rest of the week just so I could show her improvement each time we met.

Then winter break came and I was on my own for 3 weeks.  With the mild winter weather, I took up running.

I was shocked at my decision.  For 36 years I swore that running was only worth my time if there was a ball to go after (or if I was running from zombies).  But after 3 weeks, I finally found that runner’s high and I was hooked.

Before I knew it I was signing up for 5k’s and planning a 20K run for June.  Then I signed up for more 5k’s, a 10K, an obstacle course race, and a fun run.

I loved the races, they kept me going.  My competitive nature kept pushing me to run faster and farther.  I picked out someone each race to pace with, and then race past before the finished line appeared.

Somewhere, in all the running, I found myself again.  Friends would mention how much I was looking more and more like myself each day.  Problems didn’t seem so big, and I could honestly say each and every day that I was proud of myself, that I liked myself.

This new perspective led to Dare 2 Dream Dare 2 Do, a very public expression of my journey.  I hope that the stories and insights I share on my blog inspire others to find out who they might have been.  I also hope that they will use fitness in that journey because its benefits are countless.

Now I crave a workout each day and have to remind myself to take a break. I now crossfit and began training for the HyVee 5150 triathlon next September.  Of course, this journey has had its ups and downs, but I can’t imagine where I would be right now without finding my fit self.

I know that I no longer ask myself if this is all that I was meant to be.  Each day I now see that in the mirror, knowing that tomorrow I will be even more.