Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Out for a Stroll

Today - a 20-minute stroll. No goals, no agenda; just constant light movement for 20 minutes. The weather was fantastic again! (Thank you, Lord!) Yesterday, I pushed hard so it was nice to just go 'out for a stroll' this morning. My best friend even came with me. :)

It as a pretty uneventful morning. And that is ok! Let me share something that I've learned. If you have a goal, one of the biggest components to meeting that goal is having a plan. Then being consistent about following that plan. I've been using this: Half Marathon Training: Walkers. Each day is already planned for me, I just need to do it. This keeps me from saying, "well, I really don't know what to do...so I'll research tonight and then start tomorrow." Tomorrow will be come today, which becomes yesterday - and before you know it...a week or two has gone by.

Also in my plan: 2 built-in days of rest. SO IMPORTANT!!! Before I started this journey, I would just do what I needed to in order to make it to the day of rest - but then feel guilty because I was taking rest, knowing that I hadn't really worked hard before getting there. NOW - I work hard in between, and am grateful for those 2 days. I feel no guilt at all. Instead, I feel a sense of accomplishment because I know that those 2 days are like a reward for my diligence.

In the beginning, it may not be about setting huge goals, or gym memberships, or even half-marathons. For you, dear friend, it may simply be about being consistent to a plan. If your plan to begin with is walking for 10 minutes a day, 3 days a week - do just that and nothing more. Once you realize that you can do that...you'll WANT to add either another day or 2 or more time.

When I was working with a personal trainer - the first time she said "We're going for run"... I was TERRIFIED!!! I've been overweight all my life, and had awful images in my head about what I would look like while running, how my body would feel, and what others might think when they saw me running. After all was said and done...I was completely shocked at what my body could do. Yes, I felt totally awkward. Yes, initially there was a lot of pain. Yes, I'm sure that ignorant people scoffed and jeered. But I did it. First it was 15 seconds, then 30, 45 and then a minute (with equal amounts of walking in between). Then we repeated it 7 more times. During those last couple of sets...I thought I was going to die. I couldn't breathe, my entire body was wracked with pain, and I wanted to chop off my legs from the knee down (figuratively speaking). But I lived, and actually craved to do it again because I was enthralled with what my body was actually capable of in spite of my size and horrible joint condition.

Now, I am able to run a mile in 15 minutes. Is it because I have become a super athlete over night. OF COURSE NOT!!! It's because of 1 thing: Consistency. I do my best to be consistent in my training AND in my blogging (which has proved to be a great accountability tool for me).

I have no idea how many people read this, I hope there are lots. But even if for just one - YOU can do this. The path to healthy living is not a destination, it is a lifelong journey. My journey will not stop at the finishline in Virginia Beach in a few months. That is simple a mile marker.

Whether we run, walk, waddle or crawl - let's do it with perseverance always keeping the true prize of Christ in our focus, and always make effort to throw off everything that holds us back.

1 comment:

  1. Go Courtney!!!
    Always your cheerleader!! @)---

    ReplyDelete