Wow. What a difference two years has made!
Today I’m sharing with you my first ever photo of me running – with both feet off the ground! Can you read my smile?! 
Two years ago I started the process of learning to run, again. It had been about 20 years since I had tried to run. I stopped because I had bad knees, because doctors had told me it was not a good idea to run, because I never felt able to run, because I was the slowest kid in the class, because it was hard work, because people with my nerve disease are not supposed to be able to run. The list of reasons why I hadn’t run was long.
Perhaps the biggest reason I stopped running was that I thought I couldn’t.
I decided in May of 2009 that there were no reasons for me not to run – that there were no more excuses. That my time had come.
My running journey has been long, and is not over. It has taken incredible amounts of patience. I reckon it takes me and my body about 4x as long as someone who does not have nerve issues to learn and develop physical ability. I have slowly and steadily increased my training. I have had to manage bouts of tendinitis and pain. I have been in a continuous feedback loop, working with doctors, physical therapists, coaches, orthotists and running shops to find what will work best for me. And that feedback loop is not over, with my commitment to the process continuing just this week as I met with James Dunne of Kinetic Revolution to re-learn and embed some key biomechanical changes (for the better) to help my running.
It has been two years. I finally feel like I have lift off. Both my feet are off the ground! I am flying and optimistic. Me and running!
No more excuses. Lots of patience. Never give up. And always do it with a smile on your face.
Note: Photo taken at the Blenheim Triathlon, 5 June 2012, check out that air!