Fear

With just a little over a month left to train for this half marathon walk, which I registered for, the fear has set in. What was I thinking? Why did I want to do this again? Of course, I'm asking these questions to my dog, Indigo.
So as I went on ranting and raving over the choice to bite the bullet and register, Indigo looked at me with her calm, gentle, loving eyes....and there the answer was: " WALK ME!" her eyes said. Now the question to that answer really was, "Who was asking the question?".
Off we went. My mentor and me!! She, unconditionally, walked 4.5 miles with me yesterday, with such joy in her tail and I joined her, wagging my tail, as we walked through our neighborhood, enjoying the "spring" day.
I dropped her off at home to get water and rest from her chivalrous duty/fun loving walk and went on to finish the last two on my own.
The fear was gone and the joy returned. My dog saved me from the ravages of fear and reminded me that I am doing this for fun (and to prove that this soon-to-be 50 year old still has some spunk left in her swagger!).

Joy

So many of us start out our workouts with a list of complaints for the day: waking up at 2am and not going back to sleep, dogs throwing up besides your bed and awakening to your first step in it,....you know. But once the challenges of your workout begins and the aching and sweating kicks in, life is good again and the not so good things that started your day become kinda funny. Then you realize that just the blessing of being able to get out of bed and get up to workout can actually be a joyful experience. AND YOU KNOW IT ALWAYS FEEL GOOD WHEN IT'S OVER!!

Satisfaction

Even in the midst of drudgery and despair, there's the hope that one's ability to move two legs can get a person from point A to point B. So this weekend, point A to point B was 7.5 miles - walking. Who was I kidding? I hardly walked all week because it was so cold, wet and dreary out - nice excuse, since I live next door to a gym. My poor dog looked at me all week with her sad eyes wondering when I'd pick up that leash and head out the door.
And then.....came the text message: "Do you want to walk today?"  My conscience can actually text???? Oh, ya!  It was my walking buddy and motivator. In a matter of 30 seconds, while holding my phone, staring at that text message, 20 excuses not to walk floated through my head.  I took a deep breath, raised my thumb over the "N" then over the "Y". What's going to be??
Oh my gosh! Lifetimes went by in those 30 seconds.  What a waste of energy! I could be walking in the amount of time it took to decide!!
"YES!"  Of course. I knew I would feel better once I got outside. I knew I would love talking with my buddy as we trekked  on the road from point A to point B.  I knew the rewards would be numerous.
So, after our 2 hour walk, it was all worth it. All of it!  The feeling of air and sun and beauty all around us, smelling the salt air of the beach close by, the joy of commaraderie and accomplishment - all worth it.
It's a wonderful thing to know I could turn 30 seconds of pure agony and self sabotage into pure SATISFACTION!!