Let me tell you a story about progress, and how progress can change over time.
It all started with a Facebook memory.
This photo of my mum and myself was taken ten years ago. It honestly doesn’t feel like ten years have passed, but it has.
I look at this photo and I’m like “Wow I’m so skinny”. I was 33 years old and weighed roughly 65kg. I was young and fit, and I ran fast.
Running 10km in under 50 minutes is no mean feat. I could easily outrun some of my running friends. I loved the feeling of the wind in my hair and the sun on my face as I raced down the road.
It goes back further than that. Some of you may remember Just a Shirt.
In 2010 I was in a really rough time in my life. I may have a smile on my face in that photo, but I was miserable.
Flash forward to now, I’m 43, and I doubt I’ll ever see the 60s again on the scale, weighing in at 75kg.
I’m still fit, but I’m not as fast as I used to be. I can still run long distances, but I can’t compete with the younger runners anymore.
Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and I don’t recognize the person I see. I’m not as thin as I used to be, even though I’m a size 12.
My hair is starting to grey, and that’s OK.
I’m still the same person, but I’m different.
I think about all thing things I’ve accomplished in the past 10 years.
I’ve raised two wonderful, beautiful kids. I have a stable job.
Looking back on my fitness journal, I’ve achieved a lot.
- Three Spartan Events
- Four Tough Mudders
- Countless Half Marathons on both road and trail
- Two Ultra’s
I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago, but I’m still me. I’m still strong, I’m still determined, and I’m still capable of achieving great things.
While it’s easy to compare myself with others and feel that pang of envy, I have to remember all the things that I have accomplished in my life. I have a family to love, a career to be proud of and a body that is still capable of great things.
I don’t need to be fast, and I don’t need to be skinny to be enough.
Who knows what the next ten years will bring, but I hope I get stronger, wiser and more compassionate.
Until then I will appreciate the simple things in life and find deeper meaning in my relationships.
I continued running, and as I did, I thought about all the ways I had changed in the past 10 years. I was stronger, wiser, and more compassionate. I had learned to appreciate the simple things in life, and I had found a deeper meaning in my relationships.