Bikini Boot Camp BLOG

by Dawn Kosloski, Co-Owner, Bikini Boot Camp

I am in my final 4 weeks of training leading up to my first marathon and I want you to know that you can do anything that you set your mind to. Don’t be afraid to try new things!

A marathon is on my life list and is a logical progression since this is how Lindsay and I met, through running, and we continue to run together to this day. When January 2010 rolled around I thought, ‘This is it! It’s my time.’ So I did what I have done with every other major decision I have ever made in my life. I thought about it just enough to confirm that I had the space and time to commit to it, but not enough so that I would talk myself out of it!

At first I told no one, not even Lindsay. It was like my dirty little secret. I was scared to tell anyone I was actually doing the training in case I did not make it, in case I might fail. I was scared that if I talked about it and then did not finish it, I would be seen as a failure. So I ran in secret, and since January have racked up over 450km, including 49 km of hill repeats. I even ran 10km hill repeats + 4km run during the blizzard this past Wednesday (and had my best time on the hills ever)!

And slowly, as I got the mileage under my belt, I started to talk about it, and since April I am now sharing my goal with everyone. I have built my confidence, my calves (yes my cute boots are getting tough to zip up!), and my endurance and I am now at the point of no return. I have even finally registered for the Calgary Marathon! (I will share my conversation with Lindsay about registering in a later post!)

And do you know what the most amazing thing is? I am not afraid anymore. What I realized is that it does not matter how or whether I even finish the marathon, but it’s the fact that I chose to try it. By getting over that first big hurdle, the fear of failure, and facing that feeling head on, following my heart and starting the training, means I have already succeeded. And I am so happy to have had this amazing experience so far! Everything else I accomplish from here on is just the icing on the cake.

So if you have a fitness goal, or any goal, that you have always wanted to achieve, whether it is being able to play with your children or to do your 1st marathon, or if it is to learn how to sing or dance, cook up that new recipe, or travel to that exotic place on your own, but are afraid of the ‘what if’s’, I want to tell you ‘don’t be afraid’. Try it and enjoy it! What’s the worst that can happen? Other then you may never get to feel how amazing an experience it really is!

**Dawn is Co-Owner of Bikini Boot Camp, with her best friend and business partner, Lindsay. She is passionate about experiencing people, activity in the outdoors, and all that life has to offer. She will be running and blogging her way to her first marathon.