Believe

I had an experience last week that has stuck with me and I can't seem to get it out of my head, so, I decided this needed it's own post. I have always tried to be a positive, upbeat person. We all have our days where we feel negative. So, during this whole foot/ankle injury, I have really tried to be positive because I feel it's important for the recovery process! Well, as I mentioned in a previous post, Dr. Rob and my coaches were concerned it was my shoes that were possibly causing the issue...that they were too "cushion-y". So, in an attempt to try and resolve the problem, I headed to a specialty running store again, for special fitting and help with purchasing another new pair of running shoes. I tried a new place last week, per a recommendation from a few people, plus our team had met at this store the Saturday prior and our coaches highly recommended it. I got there and explained my issue to the girl and gave her the list of shoes Dr. Rob had given me to try on. She only had a few of the shoes he recommended and none of them felt right. With running shoes, it is important that you feel like the shoe is one with your foot, like you can barely even feel the shoe...hence, why I love the pair I have now...they were 1 of 15 pair of shoes I tried on originally. So, I ended up trying on pretty much every women's shoe they had in the store...my foot is too small to try men's shoes, or I would have tried them all too! As I was trying on shoes, I explained to the girl who worked there, that I am new to running and have really never been a runner. I told I played tennis all through school and how I spin and walk regularly. Her reaction to this, was that I was crazy for training to run 13.1 miles! She mentioned I should train for a 5K first to see if I could even do that before setting my sights on such big mileage as 13.1! Um, excuse me?! I was shocked and actually kind of annoyed because Team In Training recommended us to buy shoes from this place and here is this girl who is basically telling me I can't do this?! Throughout my experience with fundraising and training so far, I have not run into one person who has tried to deter me from doing this! I immediately told her that I was doing this and that I was committed to raising money and running the half marathon!!! I told her I know that I can run the 13.1 miles! I believe in myself. I know I can do this. Every single runner I have spoken to has told me that injuries are common and they happen all the time and I WILL bounce back from this. Luckily, I have a supportive husband, family and friends who believe in me as well! I left the store without a pair of shoes. After trying on every pair of women's shoes, I decided none of them were "the shoe" for me. Having this experience with the girl at the running store definitely left me feeling bummed that a stranger could have such little hope in me, but it made me remember, on a day that I was feeling pretty discouraged, that I do believe in myself and I know I can do this!!! It also reminded me to be sure to always be a cheerleader for anyone who tells me their story, you never know when they might need your words of encouragement! Thank you all for believing in me and cheering me on! Your support means so much!

With Love,
Ashley