I can’t believe that I’ve finished my second week already…
Actually, let me rephrase: I can’t believe I’ve finished my second week…period. Every step I took on every run was pain. My calves are knotted up and my knees feel like brittle branches one pinecone away from breaking. I feel like the pace of these workouts is increasing too rapidly. It cast doubt as to whether or not I can finish into every corner of my mind as I laced up for each day’s gauntlet. I say gauntlet, because it truly feels like every molehill, gust of wind, ray of sunshine, skinny girl in spandex and pebble that lay before me was conspiring to stop me. I’m sure I was a sight to see, wincing in pain with that bitter-beer face scrunched up, as I made my way though the run.
The cool part about my week though was that I heard from several people in the company about their own struggles to be consistent… whether that was in workouts or diets or what-have-you. It was actually encouraging for me to see that I was not alone in my increasing desire to quit or to go easy. I think I was under the impression that it was a cakewalk for them- like somehow they had it all together because they seemed better off than me. The real interesting part is how different we all are- how we are in such different spots in our health and fitness (and in life) and yet, somehow, we can still relate.
There are a group of women from my work that can literally run circles around me… one actually did because I was plodding along so slowly (I was harnessing my inner turtle!). They are in such better shape than I am, but are still challenged daily with eating right and exercising to the standards they’ve set for themselves. In that sense we are very much in the same boat- in a constant state of construction to erect discipline and devotion in our lives. Since they made themselves vulnerable, I benefitted and became empowered to forge ahead knowing new challenges await me!
It makes me think about my life outside of training and how when I’m going through a difficult time, I may be reluctant to share in that with someone. There may be fear of sounding weak or like a drama-king… or it could be that I just don’t want to burden anyone with my problems. The crazy thing is that sharing hardships isn’t just about you dumping on someone else about your life. It can help the other person (or people) to gain perspective- to see that their situation is better off than yours! It can also foster an environment where the person you’re unloading on feels safe to discuss their own challenges. Finally, it gives someone else the opportunity to pour love and compassion into you which can do wonders for their own self-apathy. Nothing works better to pull you out of your mud-hole like doing something for someone else!
The parallels between running or working out and real life is staggering to me. I was always a sucker for a good sports analogy, but living it out and seeing fruit has been quite the maturation process. I have definitely reaped more than I bargained for in accepting this 5k challenge. The encouragement and advice I get from my support system at Designer Whey is profound. Someday I will be on the other end of this and that gets me excited.
I’m curious to hear what workout epiphanies you’ve realized? Leave a comment and I look forward to doing this again next week… why don’t you have your people call my people and we’ll do Facebook.
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