Focus on RESILIENCE

This month we are talking about being resilient.

Never giving up.

(And I've had the chorus to Aaliyah's song "Try Again" stuck in my head. Does anyone else remember that song?)

.............

Several years ago I became a runner.  It started out as something I did because my then-boyfriend was a runner, and I used to be that girl that pretended to have the same interests as the guys I dated. Ridiculous.  But, somehow, running stuck.

Because I'm usually surrounded by people, I like being alone on a run.  I don't want to talk.  I turn my music on and escape.

And I like racing, knowing that my finishing time is mine.  Mine to take full credit or full blame.  I put the training time in and I can see the fruits of my labor.

In 2008, I decided to run a marathon.  A lot of my friends were less than supportive.

"You have no time to train with 2 kids."  "Why would you want to do that?" "That doesn't even sound like fun." And every time I woke up so sore I could hardly move pushed me harder to prove that I could finish a marathon.

"You can't do that" is one of the most motivating lines I've ever heard. 

I committed to the race and signed up for the Rock -N- Roll Marathon in San Antonio. 

About 6 weeks before the race, we were SHOCKED to find out that we were expecting surprise baby #3.

Now, I don't know whether you've trained for a marathon before, but the number of hours and 100+ miles of training you put in to be able to run 26 miles on race day is CRAZY.  I was invested in this race... and I am stubborn have an unwavering commitment to my plans!

So I checked with my doctor and decided to run the race, pregnant.

Here's the other part to running, non-runners:  Running (like most sports) is even more of a mental game than it is a physical game.  Mind over matter.  Your body says "Stop!", and you tell it to keep going.  You ignore every pain, every cramp, and put one foot in front of the other because eventually you WILL make it to the finish line.

Never give up.

Throwing a pregnancy into the mix destroyed my mental game.  It makes it impossible to ignore every pain and every cramp.

Not to mention that I had done my training in Plano, not in the Hill Country.  Wow! I learned quickly that "scenic, flat, and fast" is the way race promoters sell all race venues, whether it's accurate or not.

There's a point in a marathon where the half-marathoners turn and the full-marathoners run straight ahead.  I can not tell you how desperately I wanted to turn.  But I didn't want to give up.

There were times I walked, times I sat, times I wanted to cry... what have I done?...

I finished the marathon that day.  It took me 6 hrs and 24 minutes.  I finished with runners who were injured. Ha! Far from my best day.

But there's something great about coming to the end of your strength and pushing a little bit further!  I learned that day that I'm tenacious.  That I can cheer myself on, pick myself up, and keep moving.

Being resilient is incredibly important because things are not always going to go your way. Life will throw curveballs.  And you're not always going to have a team of people surrounding you to motivate you to take the next step. 

When you see your kids persevering, celebrate that!! And until they have that drive within them, foster it by cheering them on! Encourage them and remind them that nothing is out of reach.