Jul 16, 2010

Persevering in a New Way

For those of you who know me, know I love to exercise. I love to go for a good power walk with a girl friend, or push through the 30 Day Shred work out dvd by Jillian Michaels. I love getting out for a bike ride, or even rally the tennis ball with my husband for a bit. 

But I don't like to run. 

Or at least, I used to feel that way. 

For the last few years I really hated going for a run. It may be because I was doing it all alone, and not being realistic with myself and my abilities. 

At one point during my struggle with a minor eating disorder a few years back, I would get so angry with myself because I could not break through that tired point in the beginning of a run where my body was going...."what on earth are you making me do"? I was never one to do much running unless it was during my cheerleading daily doubles or random practices. Needless to say, unless I was on a tredmill with the tv going in front of me, I would never choose to go for a nice jog. 

This was the one area that I ignored in the world of exercise. 

Until a few weeks ago. 

A good friend of mine always talks about how much she enjoys a good run, and how good she feels after one. I began to ask her about "the wall" in the beginning of a run where I just felt like I could not push myself any further, nor wanted to. And she explained to me what it actually is and that once you get past that, it gets that much easier. 

So we went for a run! 

We decided that she would train me. Teach me how to love this area, and how to push myself in a way that I never thought I could. 

So two weeks ago, she took me out to this beautiful place in this area, and I started the journey of conquering something I thought I wasn't built to do. 

On that day, she thought it would be good to start small, and work my way up, which we are still continuing to do. We ran 4 minutes and walked 2 and then continued that for the rest of the run. It was challenging for me even though I regularly work out. My body wasn't used to this, yet I pushed through the moments of thinking I couldn't do it. I remember at one point half way through saying how much I wanted to just power walk because that's something I enjoy! Yet, Sarah kindly reminded me that I could do this, and that we only had three minutes left. Then two...then one. I remember even thinking about my older brother and how he runs 10 miles every single day with tons of gear on his back, and heat to make it worse. Yes, he's in the army. But he is still running, and doing something he had never done before. 

I even thought about Jillian Michaels being my trainer and running beside me yelling into my ear saying that I can do it, that I need to battle the lies saying I am not capable. Funny thing is, it worked! 

At the end of our run, Sarah said we were going to run to a certain point, yet I thought it wouldn't be too much longer than what I was used to. When I heard he say we had just run 7 minutes straight I was full of incredible joy! I, the one who hated running. The one who believed I could do anything else in the gym, yet could not be a distance runner...DID IT!

To some of you, this may sound kind of funny. It may seem like such a small hurdle to climb. Yet to me, it was almost impossible in my mind. I didn't think I was even built to run. It was the one thing that constantly would poke in my head saying that I wasn't really in that good of shape because I couldn't run very long. 

Yet, I persevered. 
I pushed myself past the limit that I had put on my back.
I said I couldn't run.
And I can.
And now, I love it! 
I have only just begun. 

Thank you Sarah. Thank you for reminding me that I can do this, and can conquer something that seemed impossible. Thank you for pushing me to run further without me even knowing it, and then sharing the good news as we had finished. I love that you help me push through the mental battle because I can do this physically. Thank you for being my running partner:)

God, you are amazing. Thank you for the beautiful world you have created, and The Dike...my goodness that place is beautiful and helps me enjoy our runs with baby bunnies hopping across the trail. Seeing the horses grazing half way through our run fills me with joy like every other area of your creation. 

What is something little to others, yet huge to you that you need to overcome? I know you have that one thing that you think you either physically can't do, or personally won't be able to accomplish. We are all human and we are constantly changing and growing, so what's an area that you think you could push yourself further in? 

I want to encourage you today with this. 

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Eph. 3:20

Whether it's physical, emotional, personal, a goal, a dream, or even a relationship that you want to be reconciled, God is holding your hand. With him working in your heart, you can do anything you can put your mind to. 

So what is that one thing? 

Blessings guys....

The Newlywed.


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