ATLANTA – February 15, 2017 – Atlanta Track Club Intern Shana is taking up running and walking for the first time. In an attempt to get fit and lose weight, she has joined Atlanta Track Club’s Spring 5K In-Training program and is participating in a 12-week meal plan with Good Measure Meals. This is her weekly update on her training.
This journey, whether you want to identify it as a Running Journey, Journey to A Healthier Me, or whatever your/the goal is; the process is physical AND mental! This week was probably one of the roughest mentally. Week after week, I felt like I was improving. I would be able to go a little faster or longer in distance than the week before. I was eager to take on new challenges. However, last week I felt defeated. I started out with my head held high and form ready to jog the night away. Well after what seemed like forever but was really only a few feet, I had to stop. Breath panting, calf muscles cramping, my head sinking lower and lower with the feeling of defeat. Body had you failed me? Was I not actually ready to run yet after weeks of improvement? While ashamed, I admittedly let a few tears fall. What was all this training for if I couldn’t even run a few feet?
In life we think that a particular situation is the worst thing that could ever happen, until we face the next dilemma. Then we tend to repeat the same story to ourselves. But what if we break the cycle? The story you tell yourself about yourself will soon come full circle in how you live your life. The story I was telling myself about myself was “I can’t.” But the following day I changed “I can’t” to “I can,” and I have been active everyday since. Walking, jogging, weights, a little bit of it all! I’ve said it before, but I’m beyond grateful for having people in my corner to walk when I need to walk, push me when they know I can run, and cheering me on because they want me to succeed just as much as I want to see myself succeed.
It takes water and sunshine to make flowers grow and after the rain, there comes sunshine! Continue to keep your head held high, because whether its tears or rain, it will dry up soon.
