As I arrived to the beginning of the trail, I immediately broke out into a jog. My first thought is, "Why do I ever stop running?" I took in the insanely beautiful morning and took it as a warm welcome to what I hope is a next phase of my life that I can actually commit to. I love running. I just have to keep running when the weather isn't so welcoming.
I ran a lot as a kid and early teen, but it wasn't until I was in the Army that I discovered how much I love it. I actually remember the exact moment. I was in bootcamp, we were running an early morning 7 miles before the sun rose. We all start in A group, the fast runners, mostly guys. I was always determined to stay with them, but often fell to B group, slightly slower, some guys and some girls. I refused to be apart of C group, the slowest of them all. Anyhow, that morning we had a young, fit, running lover Drill Sergeant leading our group. He would explain a few tips as we ran to maintain good posture, breathing, and stride. I would watch him as long as I could keep up, and quickly realized there's a science to this running thing. In bootcamp, I always ran home. In my mind, that's how I made it on the full 10 miles runs before sunrise, that's how I kept up in B group. I ran home.
Yesterday, we had dinner with some dear friends. We talked a lot about how I had inspired them from my last post on spending less while eating well. Off and on for a few hours, we kept circling back to that topic. I am quite passionate about this lifestyle. Eating well. Spending less. I love cooking and I love knowing that I'm instilling good habits in my kids and feeding them food that is good for their bodies.
On the way to their house, we stopped at the bank. My husband ran in and I just observed around me. It was 4 minutes to close and I watched this woman, an employee, walk from a back office, toward the front door. I guessed she was going to lock it, then thought better since it wasn't actually time. As I saw her cross in front of me, I noticed an almost sad look to her face. I wanted to hug her. She moved slowly, somewhat overweight, and wandered around the main room and finally behind closed doors. There was another woman also, talking to someone I couldn't see, but also a healthier build. She seemed happier.
It's noticing how people are when they carry themselves, wondering how they must eat, their lack of exercise, and the mood they carry around too. I notice this most when I'm grocery shopping, I tend to peek into grocery carts, wondering how they're eating. (Is this weird?) No, let's just say no. More times than not, I just feel sorry that they don't know what they're missing. Food can be so good. Good food, good for you, tastes good. Fresh herbs, oh man, do they make all the difference! Most people will never even know what fresh basil or rosemary tastes like (!!!). I've realized, however, that it is because they just don't know. Many of us weren't raised on real, whole food. I wasn't and it's really sad.
It was after watching this woman slowly and solemnly walk across the bank that I thought to myself, "I just don't want to be like that." I love to be happy. I love being active. Why don't I do that more? I've come to be the queen of being able to talk myself out of things. When my alarm goes off in the morning, it's easier to stay in bed.
Not today though. No, not one more day. It will get easier, I will get back to this. I just told my husband that we're getting older, that it's only going to get worse and more difficult to get back into shape. It's time. Right now. So I did it. I put on workout clothes, dropped my kids off at school, and went to a nearby trail that I knew I would enjoy since I don't care for running on city sidewalks. It was magnificent. In all honesty, I only went for 20 minutes. Then I came home and did 20 minutes of yoga. But that's ok, I'm giving myself grace as long as I stick to it. Tomorrow will be a little bit longer, and each day after that, will be longer time and longer distance.
I'm going to keep up with my kids, I'm going to be healthy, I'm going to take care of my one and only body and life. There are no more excuses and I'm going to hold myself accountable and develop my discipline again. What are you waiting for? Lace up, let's go!
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