I love running. Like a lot. When someone suggests exercise, running is my go to. I spent a whole bunch of money on a treadmill last year and was SO HAPPY.
But guess what! In my mind, I have never “run” more than a mile and a half. I have run a mile quite a few times, but that is usually when I give up mentally.
So… do I really love running? I don’t know. But this post isn’t about my opinion.
It is about a mind-blowing conversation I had with my husband.
He IS a runner. He won 2nd in his age division in a race he didn’t train for. He is tall, lanky, full of energy- the perfect combination for a great runner.
When we got the treadmill, I started running my signature 1 mile, and I would get hurt. Shin splints, pulled muscles, weird spasms. My husband would keep telling me to take it easy and go slowly. But to me, if I took it slowly I felt like a failure. What sort of person who loves to run can’t even make it a mile?
This is what he said: You need to learn that you can stop and walk if you need to.
You mean… if I run 1/4 mile, walk 1/4 mile, and then run 1/2 mile I can count it as a mile? Does that mean I can “run” a 5K but walk some of it if my body is about to give out or I feel a shin splint coming on?
Then it dawned on me:
SLOWING DOWN WHEN YOU NEED TO DOES NOT MAKE YOU A FAILURE.
I don’t know why I always figured I had failed if I had to walk. I would push and push until I hurt and then HAVE to walk which led to discouragement, anger, low self-esteem, and ultimately NO progress.
That is pretty dumb now that I think about it.
But don’t we do that ALL the time in so many other parts of our lives? How many of us just go and go until we crash? Trying to do everything we think we need to. Do we spend all our strength and energy to reach something that maybe we aren’t ready for? Or maybe it’s not the right time? Or isn’t necessary at all?
We need to slow down. Listen to our bodies, our minds, our spirits. The most progress will be made if we take life at a reasonable pace.
