The Power of Friends

Why is it that our thoughts can have so much power over our bodies? This can be a good thing and this can be a bad thing. The quote, "Mind over matter" has so much power when you are running and your brain keeps telling you, "Stop, this is stupid" or "Why are you doing this to me?" or "Are we done yet?"

My thoughts have been an incredible power for me. I've pushed myself to do things just by telling myself I could. I graduated from the University of Arizona. I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I get up everyday to the sound of four children. However, they have been a detriment too. I constantly tell myself I'm not good enough, I'm not pretty, I'm too fat. This latter thinking has kept me from loving myself.

So, today was one of those thought struggle days. I'm going on vacation with my family this week so I'm not able to go with Kira and Brie running. Just today. But I told them that I wanted to do it on my own today. Well, 8:00 PM came along and I still hadn't done my training. To be honest, I wasn't going to do it.

Then, came along my friend. Kira won't know what an influence she was to me tonight until she reads this, but her powerful thought kept me strong. I checked my email tonight and noticed that she commented on a blog post I did a couple of days ago. She told me that I can do it and that I AM doing it. So, guess what? I DID IT!

I went out, in the dark and ran. It's getting harder, but I'm doing it. The training was as follows: 5 minutes warm up walk, 3 min jog, 90 sec walk, 5 min jog, 2 1/2 min walk, 3 min jog, 90 sec walk and 8 min jog. Then a cool down walk. Did you see that at the end? I JOGGED 8 MINUTES STRAIGHT! A total of 19 minutes of jogging. Now, this may not be a big deal for some people, but this is HUGE for me.

I am thankful for the power of my friends. They are keeping me strong. I am realizing how important they are.