Stepping up to the start line

During my visit to Meal Magic yesterday, I spent well over an hour talking to my friend Daniela, who is the head chef there. It was great because she's been so busy setting up the systems for Meal Magic, which only officially opened to the public this week, and we have a number of common interests.

One of the things we were talked about was my running progress. My fitness is now at a place where I physically can run a good distance, but often it's my mentality that limits me. Thoughts such as "I'm tired" or "I'm in the best shape I've ever been, so I'm already doing good... especially compared to lots of people out there who don't exercise at all, let alone regularly" start to creep into my brain at the 15-20min running mark. My current ideal running goal for a workout session is 30min and these very thoughts quite often keep me from not going the full 30min. I won't even talk about what happens if I start getting a stitch when I'm running!

That's when Dan suggested that I enter a race (as in a running race) - maybe a 5km or 7km one. She said that this would give me a goal to work towards and a solid incentive to increase my workout intensity.

I am scared and yet excited at the thought of entering a race. 18 months ago there is absolutely no way I would have considered entering a running race... I couldn't even run for two minutes back then! And now here I am, not just considering an entry, but actually going for it because tomorrow Dan is going to bring a list of upcoming races for us to look at and choose one together.

New levels, new devils... come get me, because I'm prepared to fight to fight the battle and win! I think... thank God for friends like Dan and a husband like James both of whom I know will play significant roles in encourging and pushing me to (and through) this next step!