Finding the Balance…Part 2
When I wrote Part 1 of this post, I was in the middle of many of the goals/happenings that were helping me to find the balance in my life. I decided that once some of those goals were further along, or completed, I wanted to do a Part 2 with an update.
As I mentioned before, I am pursuing balance. It is a constant effort and a continuous journey. I still haven’t found it, but I have made some progress!
One of my tips was to “Set a goal (big or small) for yourself and stick to it. My biggest goal was to run the half-marathon in April. I had a lot of people ask me why I was doing it, and honestly, I didn’t have a super-rational answer. I wanted to do it for myself. I knew life would continue to get busier, my body would continue to get older, and I would always think about doing it and wonder if I could. I wanted to prove to myself that I could, and I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone. Also, most importantly, as I have mentioned in previous posts, I am a helper by nature, and taking time for myself/being present with myself does not always come naturally to me. I wanted to work on this aspect of my life and devote time to myself that I otherwise would not have allotted.
Well, I am sitting here on April 25th, one day after the half-marathon, and guess what…..I DID IT!!!!!! It was not easy, there were points when I wanted to quit, and there were times when I thought I would have to quit, but I didn’t.
Around week 7-8 of training, I started to feel this weird pull on the outside of my hip, and as training continued the pain got worse. It would go away with help from Advil or Tylenol, but eventually, it was hurting all the time and the pain wasn’t going away even with meds. I was limping around, feeling defeated, hurting, and at one point in tears because I physically couldn’t run when I would try. The pain started to spread to other areas because I was overcompensating from the original pain. Two weeks before the race I thought it was over. I went on a “quick” run and was hobbling around the whole time and looked at my watch to realize what was once a 9:45-10:15 minute pace was now a 12:35. I was crushed. My husband talked me down, gave me great advice, which was to rest, and I took the rest of the week off from running. I got an appointment with a doctor, did some physical therapy, stretched, iced, took hot baths, went to the chiropractor, and did all the restorative things. I took care of my leg, and low and behold I made it through the race.
I was literally in the middle of running (probably around miles 4-5) and I felt this peace and contentment that was overwhelmingly powerful. It felt amazing to be there in the middle of the crowds of people running and cheering, remembering why the run was happening in the first place, and reflecting on the journey I had taken to get there. I realized pretty quickly that those 5 tips I shared in Part 1 of this post applied so perfectly to this experience.
Plan Ahead.
Set a goal (big or small) for yourself and stick to it
Ask for help
Read the Bible, journal, or spend a little time being quiet
Let go of the desire to control it all
I had to do all of these things to make this happen, especially when I was hurt and close to bowing out. I needed to plan for how to heal, set smaller goals to lead me to the big one, ask for help from the doctors, family, and friends, pray and be intentional with my quiet time to listen to my body, and finally let go and let it happen. I didn’t know if I was going to attempt to try until two days before the race, and I didn’t know if I would run until I crossed the start line.
All of this to say, the main takeaway from the update on some of my goals is that now more than ever, I believe in these tips to help find some balance in life. There is no need for you to do exactly what I did and go run a bunch of miles, but find something that is yours. Something that makes you proud and see yourself in a light you’ve never seen before. Something that requires time and intentional effort with support from others. Give yourself the gift of shaping your future by finding your balance. One step at a time, one piece at a time, let it fall into place in the beautiful way God designed it to be. Our path has already been paved, and we only get one chance to walk (or run) it. Slow down, take chances, and savor the sweetness of life.
