Saturday, October 27, 2012

Beauty Of The Run




One foot in front of the other, that is what I told myself when Jeremy left. Jeremy was the guy I thought I was going to get married to. We dated about 3 years. We grew together in a way I never thought possible for anyone not married. I will forever be grateful for that period of my life because when you face something so painful you have a choice to make either you put one foot in front of the other and grow or... you don’t... when Jeremy left I would periodically feel a choking sensation and go into panic mode; also known as anxiety attacks. I can't describe that time nor do I want to dwell on it; but the point is that I went into survival mode. "Keep moving, don’t stop, never ever stop", I would repeat these words to myself. This is the time I picked up running. Running is very therapeutic. Every step I took I got stronger, and with every leap I grew to know myself and for the first time in my life I began to have faith in the power of the individual.

I learned a lot during that time. One step in front of the other... When I began running, I couldn't run far without walking and making mistakes. Eventually with consistency I got stronger, with consistency I began to feel powerful, I truly started enjoying the beautiful details of my run. The sound of my feet hitting the pavement, the ach in my legs, waterfalls, and the ability I was developing to run as long as I wanted and wherever I wanted. I developed an appreciation of the human body and what it feels like to be healthy. 

I may not have been strong on the first day, maybe not even for a few months; yet when it did happen the payoff was so worth it. Consistency is the key. Never stop trying even if some days it means you walk rather than run. 

I often times live in the extreme; eating is no different. I either go with nothing or I binge. I struggle with portion control and realizing when to stop. I have decided to take control of my life and my nutrition habits. Today I went grocery shopping (on an empty stomach), I had made a great step, I only bought the things I went for and I didn’t buy anything that wouldn't make me feel good. Other than the egg nog but I can’t drink that anyways, it was a treat for Jake.

When I got home I wanted to make crepes then later make homemade pizza. My amazing husband (Jake) is so good at not eating when he isn’t hungry, he was my example today. Jake suggested I just make the pizza instead of making breakfast at noon then hope we would be hungry for dinner. That is what I did (another step). I made myself cauliflower breadsticks made with non-dairy cheese, and then made myself a gluten free-dairy free pizza. I made for Jake a regular pizza. I am really proud of myself. I ate all of the breadstick things, which was not a lot, then just had really small piece of my pizza (two more steps). My natural instinct was to keep eating until I became sick but today I was strong! 
Baby steps if consistent are extremely powerful. At some point I believe I will begin to “enjoy the beautiful details of this run".

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