Importance Of Being Tenacity

I was always a stubborn kid. I liked to have my way and was not easily swayed. My Dad used to tell us that our greatest strength is found by understanding our weaknesses. He explained to me that being stubborn is a bad thing. People do not like when they meet an inflexible brick wall. Tenacity, however, is a powerful tool. It says to people, you are determined and persistent. A strength can sometimes be a weakness made to work in our favor. I have always remembered this advice and have used my tenacious nature to achieve goals that I have set for myself over the years.
At the beginning of 2013, I had never successfully run a mile. In school, I was always the kid that frustrated my P.E. teachers by walking the mandatory mile in twenty minutes. …show more content…
I downloaded an app to help me stay on track, bought myself some running shoes, and I went out for my first run. Eighteen minutes later I finished my first mile. One mile when I had just signed up to run 13.1. An 18-minute mile when the pace requirement for Disney was a 16-minute mile. If there has even been a time in my life when I was feeling overwhelmed, this was it. This is when my tenacious nature kicked in and I refused to give up. Over the course of the next year, I literally learned how to run. It is more than placing one foot in front of the other. Running takes dedication and determination. It causes you to alter almost every aspect of your life. I went from being afraid to run in public and training only on a treadmill to realizing that running outside is amazing and enjoying my runs. I ran in the rain and in 20-degree weather. I overcame injuries and gradually learned what worked for me. I slowly increased my mileage and ran shorter races to test my ability. My first 5K I could not walk for a week afterward but I finished. My first 10K I could not walk for 3 days afterward but again I finished. The first time I ran ten miles I cried as I walked through my front door. Each step in my running shoes was a step toward my future and I worked hard for every single one. I had hard days and a few setbacks but I kept training. I began to feel real fear as the race …show more content…
I was afraid until the moment I started running. Once I took my first steps I realized that I was ready for this. I just had to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. To say it was easy would be a lie. It was to date the hardest thing I have ever done. I went 13.1 miles in two hours and forty-five minutes. Glimpsing the 13-mile mark was such a huge relief and filled me with overwhelming emotion. I felt as if I was flying as I took those last few steps across the finish line. Very few things in my life have made me feel more accomplished than finishing that race. I had set out to do the seemingly impossible and had succeeded. The amazing part of my journey was having my kids watch me struggle toward my goal. They saw firsthand that you can set a goal and achieve it with hard work and determination. I never thought of myself as a runner. I did not fit into the box with the other athletes, I still don't. What I learned from this experience is that it does not matter. Life is not a box that we all easily fit into. Life is a journey and our path is as unique as the individual. It is the risks we take that determine who we are. Running a half-marathon helped me to understand what I am truly capable of. I know that in the future any task that is set before me can be accomplished with a plan, hard work, and a little