Fresh Start Fitness

The ability to run long distances is built up over time. It starts with one run (maybe more like a jog, or even a walk/jog combo). It feels impossibly hard to get through it, but you have this tiny little feeling of pride and accomplishment when you’re done. Next time you go out, maybe you’re even more apprehensive because you remember it’s going to be hard, but you also remember how good it feels when you’re done so you push through the physical pain and the temptation to quit.

A few times out and the aches and pains subside. The routes get familiar. The temptation to quit is quieter and easier to ignore as you focus on finishing.

When the miles build up over weeks and months of training, the body gets physically stronger: more muscular, more physical endurance to run farther than before, more strength to run faster. The brain gets stronger, too; it spends time preparing for the task at hand, negotiating through the pain, responding to cues from the body, learning to trust.

Time passes as the miles build. Seasons change from one to the next. Circumstances change, too: marital status, friendships, job changes, children growing up. But the special thing about running is that instead of feeling powerless and frozen while the world changes around me, it’s like I’m running through time with it. Time changes circumstances, and time changes me. Together we move and grow, building strength and resiliency for what lies ahead, even if we can’t see it yet.