There are times where your training comes together and you take a quantum leap. It is such an amazing thing to witness in yourself and often you don’t even recognize it until long after it happened. I have had a few of these times in my running life and they are so exciting.

The first big leap I took was after I had moved from one state to another and our family had been through a bit of a tough year. We weren’t really on steady ground yet, but as per my usual I turned to running to make it through the day. I often found myself needing to run on a treadmill at the gym and having very limited time before my husband had to leave for work. Because of this I would often run fast because I wanted to get it done. Also a very important factor were some friends I met at this time. She and her husband both ran, but we weren’t often able to run together because of work schedules and family. But when we did make it out she was always my biggest fan. She would always tell me how fast I was, although I usually felt like I was sucking air. After running with her for some time, I finally ran my first Boston qualifying race. For some reason, someone else believing in me gave me permission to believe in myself. 

The next big leap I took was after baby number four. I met a new friend from social media and we became very close running friends. She was trying to qualify for Boston on her second marathon. Many times she expressed that she didn’t think she could do it. I just laughed because I knew better. She was far, far ahead of her goal. She ran an almost 15 minute qualifying time! I ran a marathon the following weekend and took off almost 15 minutes from my best PR. Again, I think our newfound friendship and belief in ourselves and each other made all of the difference. If both of these friends hadn’t given me a vote of confidence, I may not have taken these leaps. But ultimately it took me getting on board and believing in myself.

Since that 15 minute PR my leaps have not been as big. I did take 6 minutes off, but most of the steps have been smaller. Am I at a point where I can’t take big leaps? I don’t think so! Every step or leap has come as my belief in myself has grown. This belief started with a goal, a desire to do more than I had done before. Then I worked hard with that goal in mind and did the work each day, each week. I showed up, even when one race or workout wasn’t exactly how I wanted it to be.

Don’t give up after a bad day or even a bad race. There is always next time. Keep making those goals bigger and growing your belief! Take that leap.