Many things can affect the state of our "fitness". It's just so much more than an hour a day at the gym and a few sources of complex carbs accompanied by a meaty protein. "Life" can affect our state of "fitness; and the sad truth is that life isn't always kind to us. As a matter of fact, sometimes it can be down right hard to live and the happenings of this little life we live can cause us stress and a few tears....
I can't pinpoint when I hurt my foot or when life delivered me pain most nights because of this hurt; but it definitely changed my life shortly after and has significantly affected my fitness more than I could have ever imagined. I would have to say for sure that my confidence is not what it was before this happened. I'm no longer able to strut around running mile after mile effortlessly through the beautiful paths that surround me here in my new North Carolina home. I've tried to ignore that a problem even exists with my weary right foot but it always reminds me either at about mile 1.5 or at night when I'm trying to rest my tired legs and the intense pain refuses to allow me to successfully get much sleep at all. Trust me when I tell you that this part of my life has directly affected my fitness since I now struggle with eating a clean diet because of my inability to do much cardio.
However what happens next is the real determination of your "Life". This is the point where you either keep your head above water or you sink to the depths of the sorrow pool that you can no longer swim in. When things get us down, we have a tendency to want to throw in the towel instead of using it to wipe glorious sweat off of our faces. I can assure you the latter of the two is the best choice since I've been in both that sinking pool and surrounded in the glory of salty sweat.
Exercise will always rescue us from the things that weigh us down. The good news is that it truly doesn't matter if we are pitter pattering mile after mile on the road or if we are curling the heaviest dumbbells on the rack. I can't run so I walk for as long as my little hurt foot will carry me. When it refuses to walk anymore then I jump on the stationary bike and carry it for a while with little pressure. I'm sure at some point, I will be able to run again. I just haven't made it to that point quite yet so I am learning day by day to be patient and wait for a bit more healing. I'm stopping to smell the roses now and even taking a few pictures of them. It's amazing the things that I have just "ran" by without a second glance in the past. Maybe God just wanted me to back track and take a second look at all I've missed. It makes a bit more sense when I think of it that way. I even saw a butterfly today and waited for him to land perfectly on his favorite flower today and captured it to savor the rare occurance. I hope to one day smile at that very spot when I run by with sweaty palms and a rapidly beating heart. I'm sure those moments are in my near future, but until then, I plan to keep backtracking on all that I've missed. After all my friends, it is but life. We can't plan what we intend to happen, we just have to adapt to what has happened and either sink or float on that beautiful cloud that is there to catch us.
