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| This has nothing to do with running. It's just funny. :) |
I've had to determine the elements that motivate me to exercise and what keeps me going. I only wish I had realized what I needed earlier. In no particular order, they are:
1.) Groups - I like to train with groups. As long as I don't feel too intimidated, I enjoy exercise camaraderie.
2.) Goals - Give me an attainable goal, and I'm set. I don't do well when I feel like a hamster in a wheel going nowhere. (For what it's worth, the goal of a marathon has been a long time in the making. It didn't happen overnight.)
3.) Routine - I generally go to CrossFit two times a week at noon and again on Saturday mornings. I've just started running two mornings a week, with my (not-yet-so) long run early Saturday morning. Tuesday evenings I've started running hills with my neighbor (hey, Kris!). Life, kids, dinner, a husband... all can complicate the routine. I do my best to
4.) Enjoyment - Step aerobics is the devil's spawn, and I'd rather listen to 1,000 screaming toddlers for a week than use an elliptical machine. I may get a knot in my stomach when I hear we're doing the Air Force WOD at CrossFit, and I may complain about having to do a long run in freezing weather, but ultimately it's what I enjoy. I'm a masochist, but it works for me.
5.) Mood - I can't count the number of times I've entered a workout anxious, troubled or down-right burdened by life. Without exception, life is better after I've gotten my heart pumping. Not that exercise solves every problem, but I know from experience that it helps. We're amazing designs. (Psalm 139:14)
I raise my water bottle to all you hard-working people trying to manage life and exercise. In this race called life, may your serotonin levels be high and your exercise routine a perfect fit.
P.S. Please pray for Sheila (my sister-in-law). She's having tubes taken out tomorrow and a possible procedure done on her left lung that will be quite painful. Thank you so much.
Whatever you are, be a good one. ~ Abraham Lincoln
