As a physician, I often hear my patients tell me something to the effect of, “ I could never make it through medial school.” It is true, medical school is tough, but so often, those who tell me they “could never do it” are often the ones I am confident have what it takes, if they would just believe and try. Do you have to have the elite brains to get through medical school? No, you need to have the basic life skills that most of us have, the determination to succeed, and the perseverance to stay the course when it seems most difficult.

I too have been victim to this “I could never do, so I won’t even try” mentality. As I was completing my residency training (the post MD training phase), I was 35 pounds overweight, and had not exercised regularly in about 10 years. My weight had gradually increased since finishing high school and I had never been able to drop a pound. I felt any athleticism in me had died.

Then the gauntlet was thrown. Several of my runner co-residents challenged us all to run a half marathon. I still remember clearly saying, “I could never do that, I’ve never been a runner. I can’t run more than half a mile.” However, I decided that I would try – that I would take that first step.

A good friend of mine, a triathlete, was a great support, full of encouragement and advice. He had all the right tips to get me started and keep me going. “Don’t increase by more than 10 percent per week, or you’ll injure yourself.” “It is better to do 15 minutes than nothing at all.” “Week six after starting is tough and you’ll want to quit – don’t.” “Make sure you get out and run in the week after your first race, so you don’t gall off of the wagon.”

With his guidance and with serious effort on my part, step by step, my miles did increase. And I felt the joy of running three miles, four miles, five miles, six miles for the first time ever! Me, the non-runner! Gradually, the “I can’t, so I won’t try” mentality was starting to change.

With each success, I gained more confidence to try new races. Eventually, I had to try a triathlon because I remembered watching the Hawaii Ironman as a child and thinking it was the ultimate athletic event. My first triathlon, a local sprint, was very tough. I was dizzy and nauseous getting out of the water, and just sat next to my bike in T1 for a few minutes while the debate raged in my head, “Should I pack up and go home, or get on the bike and ride?” The nausea cleared enough that the “Keep trying, get on the bike and ride” side of the debate won out. T2 went smoothly enough, but I soon learned that running after swimming and biking is much harder than running fresh, and again I thought, “Just quit, or walk. You can’t do this.” Luckily, the “Keep trying, keep putting one foot in front of the other, keep running” thoughts won and I finished the race. I was instantly addicted to triathlon. The most exciting step in triathlon may be the one that takes us across the finish line, but perhaps the most important step is the one in our minds when we decide that we will try.

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