The Secret to my "Success"

I'm not a natural runner. God gave me a gorgeous head of curly hair but he didn't give me above average lung capacity and bionic knees. I joined the cross country team in high school and it was the first time I attempted something that I knew, from the get-go, I was going to suck at. And I did! Thank God I went to a class C Catholic high school that allowed anyone and everyone to be on a sports team.

But it was one of those events in your life that when you look back on, you realize was a turning point. I found that even though I wasn't very good I got significantly better. I accomplished goals I didn't think were possible. And, accomplishing those goals gave me the confidence to give running another try about five years ago. With four half marathons under my belt and a whole bunch of 5ks I now describe myself as a runner. I put the time in, I get snotty when someone's on my treadmill at the gym, I invest $100+ in running shoes, I smear on Vaseline with other runners, I've taken more than one ice bath, and I consider everything "my neighborhood" as long as I can run to it.

The secret? I have to completely detach my mind from my body. At some point I learned how to do this but it doesn't happen all the time and I can't explain how it happens, otherwise I'd do it all the time. But when it happens and my legs and arms just move on their own and my mind can wander around...I'm a MACHINE! This sometimes happens when I'm the dance floor...where my mind is not aware of what my body is doing. I'm pretty sure there's video evidence out there.