I slowly made my way out of the car, still feeling the effects of completing my first 10-kilometer race in several years, which prompted my wife, Shelly, to ask…

“Are you ready to run the half-marathon?”

The one that’s scheduled for Feb. 25 – exactly two weeks to the day after that 10K race in Wrightsville Beach, and is longer than any race I’ve run in my life by more than three miles.

The simple answer is…I don’t know.

No one truly knows if they can accomplish anything until the day you will succeed or fall short arrives – and in my case, until the finish line comes into view.   We can prepare to conquer the challenge in front of us as much or as little as possible, and that feeling of uncertainty remains the same.

It’s a level of discomfort that, in order to succeed, we need to embrace.   Which is precisely why taking imperfect action comes to the forefront. No matter whether I truly believe I’m ready or not, I’m going to take action.

On race day, I step onto the course in front of me and go for it, and whatever happens along the way, happens. That’s how I tackle life, in all aspects of it.

After many years of suffering from paralysis by analysis, there’s no more thinking about it until fear sets in and I talk myself out of facing a challenge. I take action, the first step of a race in this case, and figure out the rest as I go along.

My first half-marathon, which by the time you read this will have (hopefully) taken me from Johnny Mercer Pier at sunrise in Wrightsville Beach to Live Oak Pavilion in Wilmington a couple hours or so later, will follow that same pattern.

There is no way to know in advance what will happen along that 13.1-mile stretch, any more than we know what path our lives will take from birth to death.

Some things are simply beyond our control. But we can control how we attack life, how we take advantage of the opportunities in front of us and put ourselves in position to go from where we are to where we want to be.

If you would like to learn more about growing more comfortable with being in uncomfortable positions, or need on your personal health and fitness journey…

Contact me at 814.504.7774 or by email at [email protected], and let’s face that journey together. You can also get more information on my website at fernandesfit.com.