Taking Things Slow
Two springs ago I became a runner. Most of the time walking was my exercise of choice but I always wanted to be a runner so I could get a really good workout in less time, break a sweat and get that runner’s high.
I have tried countless times since high school to become that runner that I’ve always wanted to be. Hey, high school was a while back. My M.O. was to hop outside or on over to the gym to run 20 to 30 minutes or however long I could keep myself going. This never got me to my goal of becoming a runner. I always got sick of running and gave up about 2-3 weeks in. Still.Not.A.Runner.
This time, though, two springs ago, I wasn’t in charge of the methodology and my husband suggested we take it slow. Really slow. We essentially chose a couch-potato-to-5K plan that started us on a run-walk interval, one minute for our run interval and gradually increasing our run interval over the course of 4 months until we were running 30 minutes straight through.
It’s been well over a year now and we are both still running 3-4 times almost every week -- and enjoying it! It’s been a lesson for me that extends to more than just trying to become a runner. Well, I probably qualify more as a jogger, but still.
Small baby steps and gradual progress is the way to go. Back when we started, two springs ago, I would have been able to run 30 minutes right away, no baby steps required. I just wouldn’t have wanted to keep it up. It was miserable sucking air and pounding the pavement for 30-whole-minutes without prior training. Miserable I tell you. I would have just thrown in the towel like every other time. I’m not that disciplined.
The same goes for the things I’d like to work on in my family life, things that God is gently and lovingly leading me toward. I want to be more generous, more welcoming, more positive, for example. I know from experience that I can pound those things out in a fit of guilt or a genuine desire to improve in my relationships, but if I can slow it down and take some small, really small, baby steps I get to experience real progress over the long haul. Sometimes less really is more.















