The Path

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.  - Buddha

The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance. Proceed, and light will dawn, and shine with increasing clearness on your path. - John Rohn 

This week has been a rather introspective one for me.  My thoughts floated to others and the difficulties they are facing and I also thought about my life and the path I am traveling.  I did as I promised to BFF's dad and went for several trail wogs this week with my trusty sidekick, Big Baby.  We have a lovely greenbelt trail behind our home.  It's serene and peaceful even though it's in the city.  

As I walked along the trail, I thought about the path I am on in life.  Being healthy and taking care of myself should be something that is simple but I tend to over-complicate it.  I know I'm not alone in that.  Why do we make things harder for ourselves than they need to be?  Big Baby and I took our time enjoying the mid-day warmth as we wogged along.  We took in all the little sights and sounds as we made our way along the trail.  Even though things are terribly dry, we did manage to find unexpected beauty on our path.

Big Baby and I came to a crossroads on our trail.  I asked her which road she wanted to take and rather than walk in a particular direction, she sat, looked up at me and waited for me to decide which trail to take.  She was waiting for me to take charge and pick a path, any path, for us to continue our journey on.  Staying in one place is never an option when venturing down any trail.  So which path to choose? 

I picked the more challenging trail which was loaded with rocks and dirt.  

The trail eventually went from rocky and rough to green and beautiful.  

I thought about how it was the perfect analogy for life - you pick the path you feel is best for you at the time and begin your journey.  Some paths are easier than others, have different obstacles and change terrain as you venture along.  A few paths even have unexpected twists and turns.  But if you stay on it long enough and overcome the rough patches, you eventually find your reward at the end for persevering.  At the end of this particular path was home for me and Big Baby (where she was rewarded with frozen blueberries).  My life path still has a lot left to be discovered and a lot of fallen trees to climb over but I can do it.  There is much unexpected beauty ahead of me.

Happy Trails!

Valeka  

Hero

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. - Christopher Reeve 

For the last two Mondays, I have gotten my ass kicked.  Not my butt or my tush or my hiney or my keister but my ASS.  I attribute part of it to my lack of healthy eating for the last couple of weeks and to the 100+ degree weather I have been venturing out in but it is mostly a lack of conditioning on my part.  I attempted to wog (at the very least) but no matter how hard I tried, my legs just wouldn't cooperate.  I had to take several breaks to catch my breath and to nurse my cramping right calf (on which I over-compensate for my weak, formerly sprained ankle).  And then, I was struck by the ugly truth - I am not superhuman.  I have always liked to think of myself as unbreakable and invincible - kinda like a super hero.  My last couple of outings have made me feel like a mere mortal.  I see my weaknesses (of course they are hard to miss when they are shoved in my face) during my runs and they frustrate me.  The heat has been overwhelming and when coupled with my apparent lack of stamina, it makes for an unpleasant run.  Don't get me wrong, I would much rather run (or wog or walk) than not because even when it sucks, it is better than not running but the suckage is still there.
 

My mind wanders when I am out on the trail.  I am pouring sweat, my heart races, my head is pounding, my mouth is dry, my calf is cramping, my shins are hurting and I want to cry.  I begin to wonder why I am even bothering to do what I'm doing.  What am I trying to prove?  Why run when I can be indoors sitting on my sofa while reading a book?  Why go through the pain and misery when I could be relaxing by the pool?  And then I realize that I actually WANT to do this.  I want to do something extraordinary.   True, there have been plenty of times when I have considered putting my running shoes away for good but then I realize that I want to do something phenomenal for ME.  I like the idea of being my own super hero and performing amazing feats of athleticism for myself.  Like when I ran my very first continuous mile.  Or when I completed my first half marathon or trained on my own for a full marathon and ran 19 miles as a training run.  Those are things that I thought were reserved only for the gods and goddesses of running.  I now know that these things aren't impossible because I have been able to do them.  So does that make me a heroine?  I like to think it does...even if it's not something I am every day.  Heroes come in many forms.  I bet you have one inside of you, too.  

Happy Trails,
Valeka    

Rising Again

The phoenix hope, can wing her way through the desert skies, and still defying fortune's spite, revive from ashes and rise. -Miguel de Cervantes


I'm slowly trying to get back into the habit of daily exercise after my lay off last week.   I am listening to my body to make sure I'm not pushing too hard too soon (still have a cough and some congestion - ICK!).  The timing of this illness is terrible because I was just getting on a roll (8 pounds down!  YAY ME!!).  I dislike setbacks because they can be so discouraging and disheartening.  I will be honest - I thought of giving up and tossing my goals out the window after this latest obstacle.  I understand that I have to heal and get better but sometimes it feels like one thing or another keeps impeding my progress.  BUT I stopped myself from indulging that negative thought and decided that this time,  I will keep on keeping on.  I am going to accept this constant hacking as a challenge rather than a barrier.  I will view this as a test to see how badly I want to run that 50 miler.  So, I refuse to give up because of a little bronchitis.  If I have to repeatedly pick myself up off of the ground to get to where I want to be, that's just what I will do.  It may take a little longer to get to my desired result but it will be worth it when I do!

Happy Trails,
Valeka