So last Friday I took part in my second half marathon and it was a glorious day since I succeeded in reaching my goals and well I proved to my self that my hard work wasn't paid off. Running a half marathon is a mental and a physical challenge. You have to work out hard, eat well and prepare yourself mentally in order to finish. At some point yesterday I was getting tired and my knees were killing me but what kept me going was my mind, my mind kept motivating me to keep going and finish the damn thing, my brain kept telling me to keep going and not give up and boy was I glad when I crossed the finishing line and found out that I've achieved my goals.
So in order to achieve something you need to be inspired and some people get inspiration from books. While some people read self help books to get inspired and others read Paulo Cohelo books to seek guidance from his weird ass novels, I get inspired by reading biographies and memoirs that are either written by or about athletes. I find sports biographies and memoirs both inspiring and interesting to read because you could feel how hard did these people work in order achieve their goals and dreams, And while some of them cheated to accomplish their goals, others worked hard and faced a lot of obstacles to achieve their goals and dreams. And when it comes to hard work and facing career threatening obstacles, then Jessica Ennis is a great example.
I first saw Ennis when I was watching the Olympics back in 2012 and for some reason she inspired me to do something about my life especially when she cried after winning her gold medal. Seeing her cry on TV after her epic win made me want to go and work the hell out and get fit. Seeing her cry made me realize how hard she worked to win this medal and the picture above is one of my favourite picture from the Olympics and played a huge role in my life. So when I found Jessica's memoir at a book store in Egypt, I didn't hesitate and I bought it though it was so fucking expensive.
And as I was expecting, the book was really inspiring and interesting. Through her words, Jessica and her ghost writer takes us through her childhood memories, her ups and downs and her frustration when her injury prevented her to take part in 2008's Olympics in Beijing. Reading this book made me understand why did she cry when she won the medal. But it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, Jessica had to sacrifice a lot in order to achieve her goals and become Britain's poster girl. Not having a normal teenagers life, dealing with a tough coach, dealing with the pressure caused by the media and working out hard in order to make progress, Jessica like any hardworking athlete went through a lot but it was worth the effort when she won the gold medal in London. And that's the thing, reaching your goals has this sweet taste that no one will understand but you. The book is amazing and inspired me in a lot of ways. At the end of the book there is this chapter that has all of Jessica's numbers and records which I found interesting and made me understand more about heptathlon. So yeah if you guys are into sports then check out this book, if you are a couch potato then read this book, it might inspire you, in other words give this book a try. I don't know what else to say so here is a picture of a potato...
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