ORIGINALLY POSTED IN 2012 on focusonsimple.co
I went running this morning – more of a jog, really. + though I took a few small breaks to walk, I can confidently say that I jogged this morning. Not for a long period of time…but I jogged.
I jogged further this morning than I did yesterday morning.
When I first started, I walked.
It’s all because of the dog, really. Thank goodness for his furry face + the fact that he needs to go outside to use the facilities. Last summer we got a large deposit of top soil in our driveway in order to do a bit of foundation work, + to even out the backyard. So when the dirt was down in the backyard, + the grass was growing, we needed to stop just letting the pup out in the yard + get our butts out to walk his little paws.
So we’ve been walking ever since. At least twice a day.
Eventually, I started jogging in short spurts.
+ slowly, I’d be able to jog for a little longer. + I’d want to jog for longer. + I’d be pushing myself to jog longer. Breath deeply, set a rhythm, keep a pace, extend where my milestone markers are; ‘just get to that point right there…now, just a little further…’.
When it starts getting harder + my body is being pushed a little further than it was before, I focus on my breathing + hear encouraging voices pushing me forward.
This morning was a bit different. I’d set my ‘done running’ marker, but when I got there I just needed to keep going. It wasn’t that much further to the official end of our walk. + I was motivated by two things…
I started thinking about this hill that I biked up when I was in my early 20s. It was steep + It was high + I am not an athlete or an avid biker. But once I started, I couldn’t stop. My heart was racing, my body was aching, I was inching along – going so slowly that if I paused for a second I’d lose my balance – but I refused to stop + give-in + let my feet hit the ground. + I made it – after that hill, the rest of the bike-ride home was easy.
+ this morning, strangely, I also heard the voices of a few of the bloggers I’ve been reading…which seems weird, really. But they’ve all had stories of struggle, doubt, insecurity, + most importantly perseverance. Which is why they’ve become successful. They’re also always so positive + supportive within the blogging community.
This morning’s run…it became a metaphor of what I’ve been struggling with, + even how to get to where I’d like to be.
I am not an athlete. I only was out for about 20 minutes. But I jogged longer than I did yesterday, which was longer than the time before. + I started by just taking the dog out for a walk. Then jogging, literally, a few steps.
But that’s how you start anything, just one step at a time. Getting started is really just that simple.