The Story of Mile Ten

It started when I hit a really rough patch in life.

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You know... the kind of rough that you don't even know where or how you'll start to dig yourself out. 

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But I did know one thing. That I needed to take better care of ME.

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And in that knowing, life presented an opportunity to train for, and run, a Half Marathon.

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Please understand this was no small thing. Because I do not run.

I am not built to run.

I do not like to run.

And my face? Well, it gets really (really!) red when I run.

It is NOT pretty. 

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But I grabbed a friend anyway.

And we began to train. 

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Much to my surprise, three months and one very painful Half Marathon later, I was hooked!

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So I began to run more often.

I began to run harder.

I began to run faster.

I made running plans and set my intentions on a really cool finish time goal.

And I kept signing up for the next Half Marathon. 

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But by Half Marathon #6 I realized I was stuck.

No matter how hard I tried I was not getting closer to my plans and goals.

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So I began to really pay attention to my runs and my races.

And I found the one constant.

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Mile Ten.

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No matter the race, no matter the run, I was flat out hitting a wall at Mile Ten.

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Bam. 

Out. Of. Power.

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This was not what I wanted - and this was not going to get me to what I wanted!

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So I started studying. A lot. 

I learned about long runs, short runs, interval runs, Fartlek runs, tempo runs, recovery runs, hill repeats,

and all the kinds of cross-training to support all the kinds of runs.

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And I built a new plan.

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A focused plan. A specific plan. A strong plan.

A plan that intentionally pushed me past Mile Ten.

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And I worked the plan.

Every. Single. Run.

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I worked through summer heat, through winter cold, through spring thunderstorms, and fall winds. And through every season of pain.

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Well, guess what?

The next Half Marathon I ran right through Mile Ten!!

No wall. No pain. No effort.

With power and energy to spare.

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Then... the next Half Marathon I reached my time goal!!

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And every time Half Marathon after that,

Well, I ran...

For FUN.

 

Because I had successfully conquered Mile Ten.

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The last few years have brought a deluge of change to my life, and with that has come a break from running.

What has NOT come is a break from uncomfortable experiences or hard things.

Because that is life.

And that is growth.

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But I have learned great lessons in the running.

And Mile Ten has become the great metaphor for those growing and changing times in my life.

The times when I hit the wall.

The times I feel that

Bam!

Out. Of. Power.

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Each of these life moments is a new kind of "Mile Ten" for me.

And I now know the things I need to do...

To stretch.

To grow. 

To become.

 

And you can do it, too.

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Wherever you are,

Wherever you want to be,

I can help you with your own "Mile Ten".

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I am Kamian.

And this is Mile Ten Coaching.

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"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."

- Neale Donald Walsch