The devil whispered in my ear, “You are not strong enough for the storm.” Today I whispered in the devil’s ear, “I am the storm.”
Many runners have a mantra they say to themselves. Just a little something to say when a run gets tough. I have two, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me” and the one above.
I have two nieces, Jenna and Jessie. Beautiful girls, that I dearly love. They both run. They recently ran a 1/2 marathon together. Jessie is a bit of a rebel. (At least for my family.) She is very passionate about human rights, she works for a non-profit, she fights for those less fortunate, for those without a voice. Basically, she stands up and fights for what she believes in and makes no apologies to anyone. I admire that in her. I got the quote from an Instagram post she made a couple of weeks ago. It was on a sign from a women’s rights march.
If you have been following my blog, you may recall I’ve had blood pressure issues for a while. I didn’t realize how much my running had suffered during that time. I am making progress and getting stronger. But, I have zero patience and expected to be running 5 miles the day after my meds changed. Well, that didn’t happen.
I have been been running 5 days a week for the last two weeks. The first week, I ran 3 miles each time. Did pretty well with that. Last week I ran 4 miles 2 days, 3 miles 2 days, and a very sad 1 mile 1 day. I had set out to run at least 3 that day, but I just didn’t have it in me.
The day after my dismal performance, I laced up and headed out again. First 2 miles, were great. On mile 3 I have a nice little hill to run up. I felt myself slowing down, calves were hurting, I was breathing like a racehorse. Suddenly, I remembered that quote and I began repeating it. Something clicked, and I killed that hill and finished my 4 miles stronger that I could have hoped for.
I’m going to have crappy runs, most everyone does. There will be days that I am convinced I should give up, give my Garmin away and throw my Hokas in the trash. But, I’m not going to do that. I will keep trying as long as I am able and as long as I love running. I will remember that I am the storm.
Run happy.
