YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK!

When I tuck my daughters into bed at night I occasionally make a point to whisper in their ears “You are stronger than you think you are”. They smile, let out a giggle and go to sleep. I know the words don’t resonate with them………..not yet anyway. It won’t be until that thing called ‘Life’ happens to them, when they start to see the rollercoaster of ups and downs and experience challenges as they chase their own passions and dreams. I hope those words echo in their mind when they face their future crossroads and hardship because it’s when no one will be there at that moment to tell them how to act or handle a situation that I hope those words influence their response positively.

Zenith Running athlete Sarah Klein first introduced me to this quote. Sarah has run some of her most defining marathons with those words printed on her hand. She has drawn on this particular mantra in the final grueling kilometers of her many marathons to produce performances that have allowed her to represent Australia twice. Along the way she has earned the statues of being one of the countries top marathon performers being named on the Athletics Australia All Time list.

It was when I was training for the Gold Coast Marathon (in 2017) with an aim of running under 3 hours, that Sarah told me ‘you are stronger than you think’. I smiled, acted appreciative and moved on, not giving much thought to her message. Here I was, a ‘has been’ athlete who had retired from competitive running over a decade earlier, back training for a marathon with the motivation to be a good role model to my daughters, but I ran into a crossroad. Eight weeks before the event I tore an abdominal muscle which stopped me running completely. That’s not ideal for a marathon runner to say the least. What’s more, with barely enough running in my legs to cover the marathon distance my goal of a sub 3hour marathon seemed to vanish in front of my eyes. The mentality that restricted me in my competitive days as an athlete came flooding back: I thought, I’ll only compete if I’m 100% right. But, as I now reflect, it was the quote from Sarah that kept me going. Even though I didn’t fully subscribe to it at the time, inadvertently I was drawing on it. What did I have to lose if I still toed the startline? I would never know what I could do if I didn’t try. Obviously I didn’t run the marathon with a torn abdominal muscle, but I rested it for three of the remaining eight weeks leading up to the marathon. I then started light controlled jogging on a treadmill, with the abdominal region significantly taped. Three weeks before race day I began to run outside and I also managed a long run. Even though I knew I was underdone I wanted to know if I could still achieve my goal of a sub 3hour marathon, or at least test how close I could get to it. Besides, I had Sarah, who was working in China at the time, set to fly in to be one of my main supporters and she believed I was stronger than I thought. I also had my main training partner – Alicia flying up to the Gold Coast to watch me too. It took all my strength to remain positive. Sarah’s mantra became more than just a motivational quote scribbled on a white board; it became soooo much more than that for me. It was the reason I didn’t fear failure. I just thought let’s look at this positively, as a big marathon taper. I was fresh! I decided to rise to the occasion…and I did. It was my husband and Zenith Running Coach Peter Schuwalow’s encouragement, Alicia’s support along with Sarah’s message that I repeated in my head in those final ten kilometres that got me through. I achieved my goal, finishing in 2hours 58minutes.

So to everyone chasing a goal, dream or personal best – You are stronger than you think. You are 100% capable of achieving more than you ever imagined. Training for sport or having a goal is not about eliminating all the down moments. It’s knowing you can, and will, get through anything. Maybe the worst is yet to come, maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s the BEST of you that is undiscovered. It’s through those down times that you once feared, that you will develop the courage to draw a portrait of the new you, line by line. Back when I was an athlete, I didn’t get that. I didn’t know or want to know that sport at times meant enduring difficulty. I didn’t know what I was truly capable of, but now as a mother and coach I know I am stronger than I thought I was. It’s now the reason I am focused on my running, work and parenting goals, not running away from them, and neither should you.

Now with the current climate of Covid-19, I will continue to draw on the knowledge that I am stronger than I think as I focus on fitness, business and parenting objectives. I encourage you to also subscribe to this mantra as you dare chase your athletic and personal goals. Embrace the ups and downs because you are stronger than you think!