Workout Wednesday - Push Yourself

Yesterday, I did my annual tax refund year supply stock up shopping at WalMart and Costco (more about that another day).  I rewarded my helpers with pizza and myself with some take out sushi.  It was 1:45 when I ate and I figured that by 4:45 when I was home and ready to go on my run, that I had given myself plenty of time to digest my food.  I was so wrong.

I burped and threw up a little in my mouth for the first half a mile and then stopped in some rocks to try and throw up.  Nothing.  If you know how much I hate to throw up, you'll know how difficult that was for me.  But I was miserable and wanted to do my run so I was willing to do whatever it took to feel better.  I continued my run and by the time I hit one mile, I decided that I would do a shorter run today because I felt so crappy.

I got to my usual corner and had to make a choice to head home or head out.  I decided to push through it and I headed out on my route to do my entire run as planned. I had decided this run was going to be more mental than physical, even though the physical part was killing me.  I kept thinking how I would react if this was happening to me on my marathon run in June and I decided right there in my head that I was not going to let a little stomach upset keep me from doing what needed to be done.  I trudged on.

Just as I reached the halfway point, I was finally able to get into a natural rhythm and was starting to feel better.  I even picked up my pace a little.  When I reached the last quarter of my run, I was beat.  I decided that since there was no turning back, I would just do some lunges and then run up the small hill, do some squats and then walk home the rest of my route.  At the top of the hill I thought to myself, "you are stronger than this.  You can't let a little upset stomach stop you."  I was glad I was at the top because as I started jogging down the hill and the momentum carried me enough that I decided to push myself and run the rest of the way home.

Guess what?  I did it.  It took me several minutes longer than normal, but I finished.  And guess what?  It didn't kill me!!  I survived. I even made it to a church activity later that night with my husband and daughter:)

Isn't that like life?  Sometimes we come up against an obstacle or a trial that we think we can't overcome.  Then, when we push ourselves to the limit of what we are capable of, we are able to look back and see how far we came.  And, in the end we realize looking back, it wasn't as hard as we originally thought it would be.

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T. S. Eliot