When I first started writing this blog, I decided to focus on the theme of balance, hence the name “Balls in the Air”. The past six months has tested my skill in juggling; the combination of a change in teaching position, an unemployed husband (there, I said it), dealing with a preteen with Aspergers, and training for Boston had become more than I could handle. By mid-January, I had had it.
That mid-January afternoon, I got home from a 14 mile run that was horrible, just like the rest of the long runs that I had done since December. I was feeling completely overwhelmed by life in general; it was obvious through my running. Once a stress release, running was now a stress in itself. I was ready to quit.
While the other parts of my life could not be controlled, though, running could. My coach, Kevin, saw that I was going through a tough time and pulled back my mileage, only to gradually rebuild it and my confidence. There were times when I questionned his plan, but I also followed it; when he said, “Go easy,” I did; when he gave me workouts that I never imagined doing, I did them too. I threw away my ipod for my long runs so that I could focus on form and pacing. I felt myself getting stronger and, slowly, my confidence started to climb, as did my ability to cope with the other challenges that I face from day to day.
Months ago, I wrote “I’m not afraid to push myself.” Tonight, I’m glad I did.
With the changes to Blogger, please, add Cynsspace to your RSS feed or follow my page on Facebook; this runner is going to be around for a while:)
Nice! I love what Msasa said above.
Athletic is often a metaphor that expresses the character of each individual. The ability to overcome the challenges we are faced with and how to recover after a heart breaking defeat. We all learn from one another from those who make the selection of their options to continue making the effort when the glimmer of hope seems to fade.
Been there and I still am unemployed as well. It will all balance eventually.
Great job!