Expectation vs. Reality

Lets face it. Exercising is tough. The fitness industry makes it look so easy, so pretty, and that you can just hop off your couch and get some sick results ASAP. Unfortunately this is so not the case.

You get your butt in the gym try getting on the tredmill and instead of looking stunning and not breathing heavy your hair is plastered to the side of your face, your makeup is running down your cheeks and you are sucking down so much air that people around you are starting to stare.

What are you wearing when you exercise? You envision the most adorable lululemon outfit hugging you in all the right places, showing off what you’ve got but instead you are wearing target brand gray leggings and you have the biggest sweat stain on your booty known to man kind (not knocking Target legging-I LOVE target).

What we see online definitely gets us motivated to get active but it’s certainly not what reality really looks like. Getting into fitness or even trying to improve upon where you are on your fitness journey is challenging and not pretty. It’s humbling and teaches you to respect others in the industry and those who are just starting out. It is so easy to give up, to throw in the towel and say this is too tough. It’s also so easy to stay at a comfortable place in your journey.For me, running at an easy pace is exactly what it sounds like, easy! But how did I get to that easy pace? I worked at it. I failed, I triumphed and I worked my ass off.

The reality is your are going to fail. And you know what, I love failing. If everything came easy how could you appreciate the road you traveled to get somewhere. I used to barely be able to finish a lap around the track without wanting to lay down and die, and now I have 3 half marathons under my belt and my pace has decreased! My average mile time used to be well into the 10 minute range and now my easy pace is rough 9’28. It might not seem like much to some but to me its everything and I am still working on increasing my speed.

Fitness is so humbling. Some people make it look easy but they had obstacles to overcome as well. Everyone has their own story, their own challenges and their own goals. How can you appreciate hard work if you don’t fail and have to push yourself past comfortable limits? How do you know what you are capable of if you give up? I had an awful run two days ago. I could only run for about 20 minutes when I had originally planned to do 4 miles. I felt like crap. I was pissed I couldn’t go as far as I wanted to, but I still got up the next morning and tried again. I also went for a run with one of my friends last week (she is a fantastic runner with a pretty fast pace) and we decided to run 2 miles and her pace. She had not run much and it would help me with speed work. The first mile we ran was at a 8’24 pace. 8’24… my normal pace is anywhere from 9’15-9’28 when I am working on holding a specific pace. The second mile was at 8’28. That was beyond tough for me and yes I could have given up or asked her to slow down at any point but I wanted to try. I wanted to push myself. I wanted the challenge. And I proved to myself I could do it.

So never let yourself down. Beat yourself up all you want, challenge yourself until you literally cannot go anymore, and sweat like an absolute beast in the process because in the end it will 100% pay off and you will feel so amazing at all the hard work and dedication you put in when you start seeing some results!