I have subscribed to PrayFit for quite some time and today's story just really resonated with me. Please take a moment and read it:
http://www.prayfit.com/2014/08/its-a-runwalk-2/
Let me tell you my story...
For some strange reason, when I was in 6th grade I decided to join Cross Country when I moved to 7th grade. I know Mr. Haight was the coach and totally the coolest teacher in the school, so hey that was a perk, but I was not really athletically inclined. Yeah, I played outside with my siblings all day long every day of summer break, but I wasn't really into sports, so what was I thinking. To this day, I couldn't tell you.
But autumn came and I was on the Cross Country team. I was the slowest runner on the team, and I don't mean by a little, but rather by a lot. I think I ran a race at 20+ minutes. My last race of the season was a speedy 12:00 per mile. I just could. not. run. I was very disheartened.
A couple weeks later, we had to do our stupid physical fitness test in gym. Every single year for as long as I can remember, we walked around the track 4 times and that was our time... pitiful!!! But that year as we started walking, I was like, man, I can run this, at least a little bit. So off I went... I tested out that year with a mile of 7:38. Say what?!?!?!?!?!?!
The next year we switched schools and I never got back into sports... ever! Then I got sick and my physical fitness levels just dropped even more.
Many years later, I moved to VA and my mom and I started walking our road. Just 1 mile up and 1 mile back. I can't even tell you how long that walk was, somewhere around 45 minutes..... But we kept trying. Didn't seem to do much, but we went...
I got a job within an easy distance of a park. I wanted a 2 mile course to equal what I was walking at home. I used my pedometer at the time and kept adding extra loops to make 2 miles. I was walking it three times a week, averaging about 50 minutes. Somewhere along the line I got a smart phone with a GPS tracker. Come to find out my 2 mile course at the park was a lot closer to 3. The pedometer I'd been using was worth the money I paid for it.... Next I joined a group at church, had to be there once a week at 7 PM, so between work and church, I walked my course twice, 6 miles, plus 3 miles the other 2 days. Still walking... Still averaging 45 minutes for my walk. But slowly, surely, I started getting a little faster, making it a goal to run down the 'big hill' and one day.... I did it!
Then I decided to try to run one of the big races in the area, a fun run 10k. OMG! What am I thinking... But with a lot of hard work and great coaching, I ran that 10k, average pace 12:30! Not only that, but my momma walked the race behind me, unofficially, right on target for our practice walk the week before.
No matter the start, no matter the fight, no matter the test, if you persevere, if you keep fighting, you will make it!
My next goal?? To qualify for a seeded wave in the race... sub-60:00. I got this!!!! And so do you!!!!
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