No Buts Allowed

I ran a 5k this past weekend.

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you might have seen my kick butt picture after the race.

Iron Girl

My friend, LeeAnne, invited me to run it with her a couple weeks ago and so I did, with no preparation. I ran 3.1 miles without doing any sort of training at all.

You would think that I’d be super proud of myself.
I SHOULD be super proud of myself.

Iron Girl medalI haven’t run outside in quite a while and I ran a pretty good time. I had an awesome time chatting with my friend while chugging up and down way too many hills. I finally had a chance to break out my adorable running skirt and obnoxiously orange leggings. I even got a medal!

It’s funny though. If a friend told me that they ran a 5k with no preparation, did a pretty good time and got a medal, I would be SO PROUD of them. I would tell them how incredibly AWESOME they are and that it is so cool that they woke up so early on a Sunday morning to run and cheer on a bunch of Iron Girls.

But when it comes to myself, I think…

Yes, I ran a 5k BUT it was ONLY 3.1 miles… not the half marathon.

Sure, I got a medal BUT it was only for a 5k. Not a big deal.

I ran quicker than normal, but it still wasn’t ACTUALLY fast.

Yes, I woke up early and got my run on, but other people do so much more.

You know what? That’s bullshit.

I don’t know why my impulse is to rain on my own parade when I would celebrate another person’s accomplishments, but it stops NOW.

I DESERVE to be proud of myself.
A 5k IS a big accomplishment.
And LeeAnne and I ROCKED IT!

Do you downplay your own successes? When you accomplish something do you always add a ‘but’ afterwards? Isn’t it funny how you tell yourself stuff that you’d never say to your best friend?!

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21 thoughts on “No Buts Allowed”

  1. Damn right you should be proud of yourself!! I do that to myself all the time, and you’re right, we should lift ourselves UP for what may seem an unimportant but in reality is a KICKASS accomplishment!! Congrats to you, girl!!

  2. YAY!! And love the leggings.

    I think we all down play our accomplishments or don’t know how to take compliments in certain scenarios. For me it’s because I always worry about the fine line between confident and obnoxious.

    1. That’s such a ‘girl thing’ isn’t it… guys don’t seem to worry about the line between confident and obnoxious. And thanks, I was unsure about the leggings when I bought them, but they totally brightened my day!

      1. You’re right, it’s such a girl thing to do. I love them, I think they’re great and you have no chance of ever getting hit by a car running in those babies.

  3. I do the same thing. I think I might be allergic to being proud of myself, because the urge to undermine is ever present. You ARE awesome for doing that 5K. I’m super proud of you. And I know that if anyone can beat the self-degredation blues, it’s YOU!

    1. I think we all need to somehow reprogram ourselves to be as supportive to ourselves as we are to everyone else! And YOU should be proud of yourself too, because I’m awfully darn proud of you! <3

  4. This post struck me.

    I am the Queen of Discounting My Own Accomplishments and I want to end my reign.

    When I won a fitness competition, my immediate reaction was excitement and, after a day or two, I thought, “It didn’t even encompass the whole East Coast so it’s not THAT big of a deal.” But you know what? It WAS a big deal! I worked my butt off for MONTHS for that competition for MONTHS and I shouldn’t discount that.

    Every time I go to sign up for a 5K, I feel like it’s just a “little” race because it’s “JUST” a 5k. Other people do full marathons and Iron Men all the time and here I am doing a piddly old 5k. But it matters! And it IS an accomplishment!

    I signed up for the 10K Across the Bay with my sister and I’m already thinking, “It’s JUST a 10k; it’s not even a half marathon.” But you know what? Running 3.1 or 6.2 or 13.1 or 26.2 miles… They’re ALL a big deal and we should give ourselves credit for doing it!

    Thank you for inspiring me to be nicer to myself. I should treat myself like I’d treat a friend. I think we all tend to downplay ourselves and we shouldn’t. We ALL rock! 🙂

    1. YES. SO MUCH yes. You are one of the fittest ladies I know and the fact that you downplay your own accomplishments is CRAZYPANTS!

      I think we all need t-shirts that say “Treat yourself like you’d treat a friend”…

  5. Whoa that’s pretty cooL 🙂 Congrats on completing this 5K – I’ve considered doing one but I am sitll building my stamina and not sure if it’s my jam,lol. 🙂 Hope you enjoy your feature and have a great one Joules! -Iva

  6. Kudos to you! It is an accomplishment and even bigger kudos for deciding to quit downplaying your successes! I used to do that too, a lot, and even though I am not doing it as often as I used to, I still catch myself sometimes not giving me enough credit. Stopping by from SITS, hope you have a wonderful day!

  7. I found your blog on SITS
    This is a great post on so many levels! Thank you for sharing your thoughts – and the fact that you ran a great 5K so we can all congratulate you!
    @AshleyF – I think it is okay to worry about the line between confident and obnoxious and to downplay our own accomplishments to others … but not to ourselves! I am guilty of that – striving for a goal, and once I meet it, feeling like it is no longer as important because I achieved it!
    Happy SITS day!

  8. CONGRATS! Running a 5K IS a huge accomplishment. Not only is running a race a big win, but you made a commitment to push yourself. That’s a big deal!! Making this kind of commitment to run a race is making a commitment to yourself and your health.

    I’m with you though. I’ve done the exact same thing you did. 🙂 So now, I registered to run a half marathon. When will you commit to the next step? 🙂

  9. I can totally relate to this- I recently wrote a blog post all about giving myself some much deserved credit. I always play down my own accomplishments, sometimes I don’t even count them! Good job girl! 5k is a big deal!

  10. I can’t say anything that wasn’t said above. It’s awesome and it’s ok to toot your own horn! I used to do a 5k once a week. I had to stop running last February due to a pregnancy complication and I’m just now starting back. My baby is 7 months old and ive gained 40 pounds! I can’t do it anymore! I am being pretty brutal to myself right now. But, 3 miles is a long way and it takes a lot to go that far. Not only physically strength, but strength in your mind, endurance and a tolerance for pain! Great job to you and thanks for the reminder to be a little kinder to myself!

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