Not running...

All I could think about as I pulled the bar toward me over and over again, up and down, was that I wanted to be running.  As song after song came on my iPod, I thought, "That is a running song..."  But I stayed inside the stuffy gym and did my bicep curls like a good girl.  Cross-training...waiting till I could be out there again...

The weather was beautiful- upper 50's and bright and clear- and I had just returned home after a long vacation.  My old running routes called to me and yet this leg was not up for the challenge.

This was my first injury.  And I wasn't handling it very well.

As someone who finds great satisfaction in researching to find answer, I was thrilled when a friend emailed me this website.  I used the diagram, found my injured area, and got information and stretches to use to work on my recovery.  I also went to a sports medicine doctor and was sent to physical therapy, which is the place I'm in right now.  I am a good little student, and I do my homework.

This last month has been a challenge.  I have run a total of three times, and four-and-a-half miles, in that time, and have struggled with the possibility that I wouldn't make it as a runner.  That this was a brief experiment in my life and I was now headed back to the unhealthy habits I had before.

It has been a lesson in perseverance and trust.

Trust that my body would heal.  Perseverance and determination to continue on the track I had laid out.  And the reminder that this body is a God-made instrument, and that running had become one way I played it.

I decided I wasn't going to give up that easily.  The pain is still there, but mild.  I'm slowly getting back out there and plan to be more careful going forward, more aware of my body.  And to ignore the voices that threaten to keep me on the couch, telling me I'm not really a runner.  So there.


Do you have negative voices that say "I can't", or "I'm not cut out for this"?  How do you silence them?