For the love of Running

My little love affair with running actually came about on account of a dare. A challenge actually, put out by my mum. She made a throw away comment along the lines of:

“Face it Taleah, this family doesn’t do running”. 

That, to me, was a challenge. I was going to prove her wrong. I mean, how hard could it be right? It’s just like walking but a bit faster. And I had married a P.E Teacher for goodness sake so I could surely get a tip or two about how to do it right.

The year was 2006. We lived literally 500m from the gym I frequented* and I usually drove there, did a step class then drove home. Exercise done & dusted.

I started to run/walk around the block, slowly increasing the time I ran for. What a thrill when I could complete the whole block without stopping. I used to make josh drive around the block with the odometer to see my record breaking track (pre mapmyrun days!).

We moved to London & my love of running increased ten fold. Every run included gloves & beanie but that didn’t stop me. I did a 5km run non stop and then one day just decided to run it in reverse; my first 10k run. I ran home from work a few times a week increasing my distance to 15-20km runs depending on where I was working.

We moved back to Australia in 2009 and I moved into triathlons as well as running. 

Fast forward five years, two babies and a few injuries which brings me to today.

In the past month I have just returned to a few regular short runs a week and I am loving it. 

But It hasn’t always been that way though.

I have battled a few exercise demons in my past. Exercise used to be a punishment for what I had eaten.  My only goal was to see a certain weight on the scales. My motivations for running were not always pure. I wanted to prove that it could be done. That I could lose the baby weight; that I still had it.

It was all born out of my own insecurities.

I’ve had a long time away from running, which has meant a long time thinking about running & my love/hate relationship with exercise & my body.

Here’s where I’m at today. This is what I know. I have been put here on this earth at this time for a purpose. I need to keep my body fit & strong in order to see this purpose fulfilled. 

When I stopped worshipping** my body & instead worshipped the one who made it, the old mindsets disappeared. It’s funny, but I can actually say that I love my body. I'm way happier than I was when I weighed my 'goal weight'. I love how it looks since having kids. I love that it housed & nourished two children to term (& beyond). Our bodies & what they are capable of are simply magnificent. I see things in a different light now. I'm free. I run when I like for as long as I like***. No hidden agenda anymore. I want my children to have healthy body images not an all or nothing approach and that only starts when I model it.

*not that frequently. 

** to revere, honour, praise, exult, adore, love, admire & idolise.
***A bit like I blog.

2009 Sydney Half Marathon with my love

Husky Enticer Tri 2012 (7weeks preggers)

Sydney Marathon 2009

This is mostly how my runs occur these days

What's your motto?

Pic via www.runnersworld.com

I work out a couple of times a week with a group called ‘Savvy Fitness’. Amongst many other things they are known as a crew who work out no matter what. No excuses. “We train when it rains” is the phrase that is associated with Savvy. It’s all over their website, their Facebook page & it’s something that the trainers often refer to.

I can tell you, they actually follow through. It’s not just a cute phrase.

I trained in the rain this week and it got me thinking.

We train when it rains. When adverse conditions come our way, we push on. When it is uncomfortable & others might choose to withdraw; we push through.

That’s essentially what this motto means & I have been mulling over it all week.

I would hope that this little phrase could apply to more than just my exercise regime. Could this, in fact, be a motto for my life?

Do I choose to look the other way when I see a need, because it might mean that I have to get my hands dirty? Do I let something that someone said or did, cause me to retreat or hold a grudge? When things don’t go quite how I thought they were going to go, does it side track me for longer than it should?

We train when it rains.  When conditions are not favourable I want to still go out.  I am pretty much assured that I will have trouble & trials in this life but I want to be one who perseveres*. One who keeps their eyes on the prize & pushes through**.

I won’t look the other way; I’ll get my hands dirty even if it means giving up time or resource. I will forgive quickly & move on. I will make peace with the fact that He is in control, not me & that means that when my plans don’t work out that He has something even better in store. I will get comfortable with being uncomfortable & rely on Him for my future & all that it holds.

I want to go there, no matter what….I want to train when it rains.***

How would you sum up your life’s motto? How would other people describe your motto on life?

*James 1

**Philippians 3:12-14

***and you know what…it actually turned out to be a lot of fun, sloshing about in the mud & puddles!

Big School

Harper's first day at school

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree does it?

Wednesdays in our house mean preschool for Harper.

‘Big school’ as he calls it. It is a tough morning.

See my little man is battling a fear. The first of many I dare say. I see the signs so clearly. This week was worse than others. A denial that today was even Wednesday, tears as we packed his bag. He walked stoically beside me the two blocks to preschool but I knew there was turmoil inside his little mind. I knew, because I have been there too.

He screamed when I left and I cried my way home.

I feel like I have battled with fear my whole life. I remember as a child seeing a book on my parent’s shelf that was titled ‘Feel the fear & do it anyway’. I never read the book but it became like a mantra to me. Repeating it whenever I felt scared.

The problem is that mantra’s are empty. They have no power to change anything. It might make you feel better for a minute or so but there is no longevity in it’s cure

We are trying to teach Harper to ‘get his brave on’. A short, cute & easy to remember mantra for a three year old. We are, however, teaching Harper that only Jesus can make us brave; we can’t do it on our own.

As I stand on the promise of the peace that passes understanding* so I try to teach Harper that he has access to that peace also.

So darling boy, I do get it. I get you. I spend the morning praying for you. Praying that His peace will invade your body & mind & make you brave. Braver than you ever thought you could be. There will be countless things in this life that you will come up against that will attempt to take you out by paralysing you with fear. Just remember honey that He has not given us a spirit of fear & timidity but of power, love & self-discipline**

For now, I count the minutes til I can pick you up & tell you how proud I am of you. I think I might try to make some healthy chocolate ice cream for dessert. Just for you darling boy. Xx

*Philippians 4:6-7

** 2 Timothy 1:7

Blogging 2.0 {Restart}

Somewhere along the way of this little blogging journey; I got lost. I lost my rhythm & my motivation. I toyed with throwing in the towel. The longer I went without a post, the harder it got to actually write one. Months went by along with zillions of posts that never made it to paper. So to speak. 

True to form, I tried to find peace in setting goals for this little blog. I will create a new blog header; that is sure to fuel the motivation, right? Much like getting new running clothes is supposed to ignite the love of running. I settled on a goal of one post per week but I didn't even get started.

Still, the thought of shutting it down completely did not sit right with me.

So here's what I have decided. I am re-launching this little space today. No fanfare, nothing crazy. Just going to start with one little post and see how I go. What I am going to do though, or not do, as it may be; is promote my posts. See, I think I got a bit daunted when I highlighted a new post on facey or insty or twitter. I became too aware of who might or might not be reading. I got caught up with censoring what I wrote or adjusting it for a certain audience. It lost me in the process.

You see, I read blogs about writing blogs. It seems the most successful blogs are those that have a clear focus & stick to it. There are lifestyle, food, fitness, parenting, craft, business & fashion blogs. I'm not sure what my blog niche is*. I let that get in the way before. This time I'm simply going to write about whatever I feel like, whenever I like. 

So apologies to those that subscribed to my blog previously**, who have been patiently waiting for a blog post. It's finally here.



*although we can clearly rule out that it is not a fashion blog.
**pretty sure it was just my husband and mother in law.