As many of you probably noticed, my name was not in the results for the US Cross Country meet. Unfortunately it was not because I ran so fast that I didn’t get a time:) I am currently on the DL (disabled list). I decided not to travel to St. Louis because of a foot injury. I have been off for about two weeks and will hopefully be back running in about another two weeks. Obviously I was very frustrated when I first had to stop running, but there is little to do but to accept it and move on. My sister reminded me that our purpose is to always strive to be the best we can be, and I can do that whether I run or not. So…the plan for now is to dwell on truth, especially on the fact that God knows the plans for me and that they are good (Jeremiah 29:11), and then march forward with enthusiasm and perseverance.
I have always wanted to be a “Regular” somewhere, and I guess I am officially a “Regular” at Lifetime Fitness (not quite what I had in mind…) Although I do not hope to cross train indoors the rest of my life, I have been encouraged and inspired by those around me. Being in the pool and on machines confines you, but also makes it so you can work out alongside people with a variety of goals. I have found myself in the pool a lot during the Water Aerobics class where there are at least 2 generations separating me from the others. Their workouts look very different than my own; people are typically floating on noodles, following the instructor’s directions, or chatting. Despite the dramatic difference in our age and workouts, I realized we have a lot in common: We both are in the pool taking care of ourselves, looking to better ourselves, and taking pride in our efforts.
One of my most inspired moments at Lifetime happened this week when I was doing 6-minute aqua jogging intervals in the deep-end of the pool. A rather elderly woman joined me as I was halfway through the workout. She lowered herself into the pool via a mechanical chair and paddled over to the deep end. She floated in the deep-end and did toe touches and other mobility exercises. As I was huffing and puffing she would tease me with insensitive but friendly comments like “Looks like you are running out of steam” or “So you are starting to torture yourself again?” After I finished my workout, I chatted with her a while. She shared her entire pool routine; how she would wake up and the first thing she did was put her suit on and come swim, do 40 toe touches, etc. She clearly beamed with pride. I was so impressed with her ambition and all that we had in common. Her motivation is to make sure that she maintained some mobility and to get out of the house, while my motivation is to work as hard as I can to maintain fitness so I can have a smooth transition back to training and run a fast 5k, but we both were proud of what we were doing and were able to encourage the other. After my interaction with Eileen, I have been excited about the fact that no matter who is around me, I generally have something in common with them and can acknowledge them and encourage them to be proud of their endeavors. For now, while I am working out at Lifetime, I hope to acknowledge those working out around me and to affirm them so that they can take pride in their workout to be the best they can be!
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.”
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