Once upon a time there was a girl who was afraid to run. She had been laughed at and misunderstood for her most of her life. There were people of authority who did not take her desire to join the military seriously and laughed at her when she wanted to join the track team. All she wanted to do was run.
I'm sure it comes as no suprise that the story above is about me.
When I turned 29 I decided that I would be the healthiest I had ever been by age 30. Age 30 arrived, I lost 30% of my body weight and got lean. I accomplished all of this by eating whole foods, lifting weights and running.
I put the negative influences behind me and ran. I ran through the rain, the morning fog and multiple pairs of shoes. I finally felt free. The day I told my trainer that I signed up for my first race, he laughed and doubtfully said that it was going to be really hard. I wasn't sure that was the support I was looking for, but I still found a way to use it to push myself harder.
Learning to run taught me that all the stuff they say about "believing in your dreams" is actually true. I only ran a few miles at a time but the confidence that came with those miles was amazing. I took on a lot of other things because of the new found confidence. Things like making sales calls, sewing, small talk with strangers, and wearing shorts! The most important lesson of all was learning that with the right information, I could do anything.
By the time my second trainer came around, I was running okay but had suffered an injury. We worked through it for a while and I ran on a threadmill with sweat rolling off my face and probably onto my trainer who stood right next to me the whole time. The fact that he stood there reminded me that I wasn't going to die no matter how much I couldn't breath or how much I couldn't help but make the ugly running face that no one ever gets to see.
Eventually the injury started to haunt me and the breif moment of running I had ended without notice (at least to me). Like other people and things that have left my life, I look for reasons why and try to focus on what I have learned through this.
I believe that when people leave or enter your life that there is a reason why. I have to belive that for me, running is the same. Maybe I learned everything that I was supposed to through running. Maybe it's time to move forward at a slower pace. Maybe I can be okay with this down the road.
The lessons this year have been tough ones, but I am still a happy entree with just a temporary side of sadness. I can't wait to see what I learn next year.
That's all.
No comments:
Post a Comment