I have finally taken the time to sit and read through everyone's thoughts! And there are so many things that have caused me to reflect even further... time for a post.
I love how Joan started this Team Blog as a way to reflect on living a healthier life. By reading everyone's posts, it really makes me think about the health of your body, mind and soul and how related those facets really are. That's what this is all about. It was great to read about (and visualize) Anna's run along the gorgeous scenery in Greece and also Kathy's walk with Angels at the cemetery - both very moving places to run and reflect on the goodness of each day.
What really made me think was Dean's question - What does it take? And the first thing that came to my mind about what it really takes to get me to keep at running is to "not compare myself with others". I've always wanted to be a runner. But I made the mistake of starting out, comparing myself to avid runners, and then giving up because I wasn't "perfect" (gasp!). I started a handful of times, compared my measly run to the 10K of others and then went back to just power-walking and yoga. I did this over and over. Until March. I started running again, but this time, I shared my struggles with a friend who is an avid runner. When I asked him how he can run and not compare himself to others he gave me the best advice. He said, "I run my own race." It made me think about doing what was right for me. So I started again. And I started keeping track of MY running each day. I ignored the people running by me. I didn't look at the runners that I crossed paths with. I learned to shut out the rest of the world when I run. I focus on ME. I taught myself how to run my own race.
Running for me is about my mental health. I feel better when I run. I sleep better when I run. It's about getting lost in my music and emptying my brain of all the nonsense that tries to creep in at times (my brothers call me Analyti-Kel). There was a picture in one of the posts with this quote - "Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between 2 deep breaths." That is so true to me. If you focus on your breathing, I mean REALLY focus, it brings you a step closer to awareness. I've tried to practice that in my runs. I'm not perfect, but I'm learning.
I loved the video that Shelley posted about "Running and Reading" - Will talked about that "voice that talks to you when you are running" - but he referred more to the voice that nags about how tired you are and how you need to defeat that little voice. I like to listen to the other voice that seems to talk to me through my music on my run. The little voice in my head (through my music) gives me inspiration, the voice that says I'm doing my best, the voice that tells me to keep going! When I'm listening to my music, on my run, it truly lifts my soul!
I've decided to print the Star Wordle and put it on my bedroom mirror. I've also decided that it's time I buy that fancy Nike shoe thing to help me keep motivated and track my progress. Those are my goals for now!
Thank you Joan, for bringing us together. I feel that this sharing will be an inspiration to me. I want you guys in #temt to call me on it every day! I look forward to the tweets: "Kelly have you run yet today?" Because I know myself. I need to be pushed.
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