Slightly off beat

Hello Dear Reader,

Lately, because of all of the changes going on in my life, I have sorely neglected running. Without daily runs, I've been totally off beat. I guess that sometimes, it's easy to get caught up in the frustrations, rather than focus on solutions to mitigate them. While running isn't the solution for everything, it sure does allow me the time and space to collect myself and improve my attitude. Every time my mother hears me complain, her answer is, "Girl, you need to get up and run." Real talk!

It seems as if my friends also know what to say- run! One of my good friends in Lesotho, who has now been running and working out for several months (and has made amazing strides in his own personal health and fitness), picked up on my frustration and asked, "Why aren't you running?" In his very gentle way, he managed to talk me into supporting him in his running endeavor by joining him on his Sunday long runs. His Sunday long runs, over time, have motivated me to revive my mid-week runs. Isn't it funny that helping others often helps you to help yourself?!

Several weeks ago, we ran 8 miles around the city. Prior to the run, however, I was pretty nervous that I'd be too out of shape to complete it. Not.at.all. The run, in fact, made me feel sooooo good (like I knew it would). I wasn't sore or stiff! Wow, my body is forgiving! This past weekend, we completed 9 miles. Awesome! Not only am I proud of my running buddy for his own accomplishments, but I'm proud of myself for getting back out there and hitting the pavement as well.

Sometimes it is so easy to allow frustrations to distract me, but I need to be more diligent to not let these temporary moments derail me from accomplishing my goals and doing what I enjoy.

"We fall down, but we get up!"

...and I'm saying this to myself right now...put one foot in front of the other...and keep it movin'!

Yours in (getting back up) training,

Dani