Pace Yourself

On this beautiful fall Monday morning after DST I want to encourage you to pace yourself.

Last year at this time I could barely WALK or pick up my babies without wincing in pain after I would go for a "run".

You know, just....
A "run" to help lose some baby weight.
A "run" to clear my mind.
A "run" for a busy mama of 3 littles needing a moment.

I was a swimmer in high school and a cyclist in college who morphed into a triathlete.

And then babies happened, so I turned to running because it was an efficient way to exercise and with a jogger I could do it with my babies if needed.

But after my third pregnancy I didn't & wasn't recovering properly.

(It was probably because I ran my first Marathon when I was only 9 months post partum with my second...and already 5 weeks pregnant with my third. Whoops. Yeah, never again. Just reading that makes me wince.)

So last year at this time I had to let running go

...and go to physical therapy...

It was very hard at first knowing I couldn't go for a run to relieve stress. But my physical therapists were so encouraging. And the physical therapy was working: daily pain was being alleviated with small seemingly silly exercises ;) So slowly I was able to shift my focus from what I couldn't do presently to what I was going to be able to do again.

And it was so worth it. Because you see that smiling woman below?? That's me, AFTER I RAN 10 MILES IN UNDER A 9 MINUTE MILE. WHAT????


It's amazing what happens when you let things go that you know you're a capable of but presently do not have the capacity to do them well.

Because when you do get them back you can do them BETTER.

Now, I know a 9 minute mile isn't world record pace or anything. But being able to SMILE, WALK, and pick up my babies after running a negative split race is totally world record status.

I think we put so much pressure on ourselves to perform-perform-perform, we end up losing the joy that supposed to come after "performing". 

Being out numbered daily by my three little people and letting running go for a season has given me greater perspective on what performance truly is and gratitude for the little successes of daily life.

So, be gentle with yourself today and let something go. I promise there will be a return. 











Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 7, 2016 at 11:19 AM

    You rock Liv !! This is the first time I have seen your blog. I hope I can find it again. Haha missed you and all of your people this year :) :)

    ReplyDelete

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