Four weeks of training ended today and in that time I ran 75 miles and the training will continue for a total of 16 weeks. That is simply amazing to this stay-at-home mom and wife. Let me be clear about who I am. I would never call myself an athlete and the people who work at the gym I had a membership at wouldn't be able to recognize me if I walk up to them with a name tag on. Get the picture? There is nothing outstanding or extraordinary about me. People that know me are shocked when they hear I am running a marathon.
Today I ran a 5k sponsored by my church. Before I left to start my run, Becky, a friend walked up to me who had been following me on face book, and said she was so proud of me. I needed those words before the race began. I know it was just 3.2 miles and last Saturday I had run 9 miles in the rain. However, the thought of running in front of so many people that knew me was scary. What if I fell or just ran out of energy or what if I came in last? Later Becky asked Jenn how she got me to run 9 miles at one time. Doesn't that question alone just sum it up enough?
If you had asked me four weeks ago if I could run nine miles I would have giggled and said no way but 'way' it happened and in the rain. Today's run was a bit harder because it was 89 outside and I always run at 5 am well before the Texas heat starts in but even with the heat, I ran a total of 7 miles today. That doesn't mean I didn't want to give up and in fact once with less than a mile to go I stopped. The urge to quit was over whelming. I was sweating and it seemed too hard to go on. I hit that emotional and mental block that told me I couldn't do it. I had to just shhhs it and start running again otherwise I would still be standing less than a mile from my house.
"Remember to put one foot in front of the other." That is the truth and not just in running. I have been working on writing for years but mostly just haphazardly. Not with conviction or any sort of consistent drive. One foot in front of the other crosses over into your daily life and your life goals. How often do we give up our dreams because it seems like we can't obtain it.
Alternatively, we put off something that we needed to do because it just seemed overwhelming. If we would just plod on with one foot in front of the other, we could accomplish so much. You see running slow is effective because it still gets you where you want to go. Are you moving one foot in front of the other to reach your goals or just to complete a task you want to put off until later?
12 comments:
Donna, I'm so proud of you. This is something I could never do and to say it isn't extraordinary is to make light of what you've accomplished!!!
You did it and that is something to be thankful for!! Good job girly and thanks for being an inspiration!
Blessings,
Mimi B
Thanks Mimi you are very sweet. Be sure to check back and follow my journey. I'm sure I will have both good and bad weeks to come. The race is December 13th which is just around the corner.
What an accomplishment! You sould be very proud of yourself. Wish I had that kind of energy.
Lorraine
moml1@cox.net
wow. way to go and this message is great. thank you; Sarah
Thank you for this post. I really needed to hear it -- both about the running AND the writing. (I'm a newbie to running, too.) Really -- thanks.
Lorraine, I wish I had more energy but now I am going to bed early and trying to eat better. These two things are helping. Of course as I am writing this a 10 am I am yawning. lol
Laura, my advice on running is try to find a buddy to run with. It has helped my running to run with Jenn and Debbie. As for writing I am a terrible example but I will say the best money I have spent was spent on joining ACFW. It is a great organization. Keep me informed on both your writing and running.
Donna, I wish I could. Unfortunately I live out in the country in east Texas and there's no one around to run with me. I just keep slogging along -- some days more faithfully than others. Same thing with the writing. :-)
Laura,
I ran for several years off and on by myself but I happened into a group of women from my church by accident who were starting to run together.One mentioned in on Facebook.
We have a schedule that we follow. That has helped a lot. Of course you could do that too. Make up a schedule and post it somewhere.
Thanks for the suggestions. Here's a question for you about ACFW: I've "studied" writing for years -- read tons of books and magazines, etc., and I've written on and off, but only recently started trying to seriously pursue it again, but I don't yet have a completed manuscript. What benefit would I get out of joining ACFW at this stage?
If you are interested in writing for the Christian Fiction market I would highly recommend the ACFW. It gives you access to agents, editors and a whole host of wonderful authors. The membership dues is minimal, but with that you will find critter groups, information on writing and free online courses. You should check out the site for more information. The general loop is I think one of the most valuable tools.
Thank you for the insight. I do think ACFW is a worthwhile investment. I'm just trying to decide if it's worthwhile for me right now or if I should wait until I actually have finished a manuscript that I'm ready to do something with. Without that, access to agents and editors won't be productive. And I already read tons of writer and agent blogs, and own just about every book written on the subject of writing, etc. I've sort of been holding membership in ACFW for myself as a reward for when I get the manuscript finished. Maybe that's silly.
Not a problem Laura, I understand wanting to have a ms completed. I have been a member of ACFW for two years and have learned so much but like you I have yet to finish my first ms. I have several half finished but nothing ready to sell. So you could wait to reward yourself but in doing so you might be denying yourself the availabilty of a host of motivations Although you know what you need to motivate you best. Look at me, I needed to physically challenge myself to run 26 miles inorder to get serious about writing. lol The miracle in the fact that we are all created by an Awesome God!
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