Courtesy Photo | Master Sgt. Norma Przborowski, 149th Maintenance Group member, runs one of her race...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas - The dreaded PT test. She paced back and forth, rubbing one sweaty hand against the other. The scorers stood nearby clutching their clip boards. The thought of the scrutiny, the unavoidable “GO!” command before the run brought nausea to the pit of her stomach. Sure, she hadn’t failed yet, but each year the test came due, that familiar anxiety plagued her mind. She hated that feeling.
Then something happened in 2013 to change all that.
Chief Master Sgt. Nicole Seigler, the 149th Fighter Wing’s human resource adviser, picked up a certain habit that soon turned to addiction — running.
Seigler no longer blanches at the thought of the annual PT test. “Now at every lap, I laugh,” she said with a smile, as if the memory of her last assessment is still fresh on her mind, “because I know I’m going to score in the 90s.”
The impetus to spark this change happened during dinner one evening with a friend and his mom. Her friend’s mom, a woman well into her 60s, casually announced she would get up the next day and run a half marathon.
Seigler was stunned at this nonchalant declaration. “I thought, I want to be you when I grow up,” she said recalling that evening.
Her friend’s mom did go to that half marathon and ultimately placed first in her age category. Seigler, feeling a surge of inspiration, signed up for her first race that March (2013), and now, more than 47 half marathons later, hasn’t looked back.
Just recently, she and fellow team members traveled to Colorado to partake in the Ragnar Relay, a race where teams take turns running lapses of miles, called legs, day and night, over a distance of roughly 200 miles.
Master Sgt. Norma Przyborowski, teammate and fellow Guardsman, also shares Seigler’s passion for running.
Przyborowski took up running in 2002, “just for fun,” before signing up for a competitive 5K race in 2007, in which she placed first. She said the placement surprised her because she wasn’t trying to win and that competitive races don’t really appeal to her, unless it’s against herself.
For Przyborowski , running is a head game. “As runners, we all have those times where you either feel it or you don’t,” she said. “It’s all psychological. The important thing is to challenge yourself.”
Seigler, agrees, and as captain of the Ragnar team, is specifically looking to recruit people with apt minds versus quick feet. “It’s not the strength of the runner,” Seigler said. “It’s the strength of character in the runner. You can be slow. That’s not a problem, but you need to be mentally tough.”
Przyborowski, who ran the Ragnar with Seigler in Colorado, is also planning to be part of her team again for the upcoming April relay happening here in Texas, spanning from Fredericksburg to Austin.
Przyborowski said people might be tempted to belittle the Ragnar race because runners shoulder the distance with other teammates, but she also knows firsthand it’s not that simple. “If you want a challenge in your life, this will shake things up for you,” she said. “It’s trail running to the extreme. It challenges you physically, psychologically and mentally, but you come out the better for it.”
Despite getting little sleep, contending with the altitude, and battling environment and terrain, both women said they had a great time. Seigler even ranked it among one of the top weekends of her life – that coming from a woman who has jumped out of airplanes and has scaled Japan’s famous Mount Fuji.
“It’s going to be an amazing adventure and a challenge you’re not going to forget the rest of your life,” Seigler said. She also contends that running is not about ability. It’s about will power. “It doesn’t matter what your running ability is,” she said. “If you can jog, you can do Ragnar. Speed doesn’t matter. If you’ve got the heart for it, you can do it. Legs will follow.”
If nothing else, Seigler said she hopes to inspire other people who dread the PT test like she once did. She has even received some attention around the wing for her heavy involvement in marathons and races. While talking to a full room about not letting injuries stand in the way of your goal, she remarked that she’s seen all types of people out running – some without limbs – and if they could do it, anyone could. She then exited the room letting the door close behind her as her last utterance of motivation hung in the air: “No excuses.”
| Date Taken: | 11.13.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.13.2015 11:49 |
| Story ID: | 181887 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 188 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Tackling fears, forming bonds: runner replaces worry with joy, by Mindy Bloem, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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