"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but they don't quit."
Let it be said that I have been taking action. I stumbled (quite literally) into one of my latest goals and found that I really, really like it. It has been a consistent effort, a completely new and daunting one, but because I have my goal in sight I haven't stopped. Does this make me a success? I'm not sure about that, but it certainly does speak to the efforts being made and the success behind them, and that alone is enough to keep me going-even on the harder days.
Friends, family, loved ones who have known me through every season of life, I have started running. Once you catch your breath, take a moment and remember that this girl has always stuck to very low-impact, light cardio and never run a day in her life. The reason has been a legitimate one: I have exercise induced asthma. It sounds lame. Incredibly lame. Even when I say it it sound like the world's biggest cop-out, but I found a program that has eased me into this new lane and allowed me to find a way to handle more rigorous cardio without triggering an attack.
I know you've heard of it. I had, too, and was surprised how the praise for this 9 week "walk to running" program was pretty consistent across the board. Most came from people like me, those who have never run but wanted to, and for whatever their reasons were, felt they were bound by their limitations. Even so, they wanted to make this goal happen. And so did I.
To give credit it where it is due, the reason this happened at all was a text from a friend in Tokyo. Hi Meg! She'd seen my "20 in 2020" goal list, noted my goal for working out 5 times a week, and asked if I wanted to join her in a run later in the year. This ticked off a huge box on my list, because I'm not sure about y'all, but if I don't have a destination in sight sometimes I flounder a bit on where to even begin. She offered me the perfect reason to get moving. Between the Pilates and Couch to 5K, I am effectively and consistently hitting this next goal.
#5 Work out 5 days a week
I'm slowly working through something that has been holding me back for years, and this makes me incredibly excited. Couch to 5K is a very doable program that allows your body to acclimate to running longer distances for longer spans of time. Download the free app, choose your playlist, then let the program take you through your 30 minute intervals of walking and running three times a week. You do not need a special watch or device, just your phone, headphones, and your desire to MOVE.
I wanted to say more in this post, more about how certain items on my checklist continue to make themselves available for me to tackle, but I'm going to make that a separate entry. One thing I want to dispel is that I'm trying to do everything at once-and since many doors have been opening it's felt like I could easily do it. But I haven't. It's been an exercise in pacing myself and allowing these things to happen gradually. I want to enjoy the journey for each of these goals, and not loose sight of my 'why' for doing them by trying to tackle too many things all at once.
I'm going to write about how I do pace myself and not get overwhelmed so there is only joy in the journey, and a limited amount of stress. I hope you'll join me on it, just as I hope you'll join me when I run my fist 5K. Won't that be a hell of a thing!
Take care all! Enjoy your weekend ahead and the journey that takes you there.