I am an endurance runner. I enjoy running 7 to 10 miles, three to four times a week. I regularly participate in marathons and triathlons. I run in the desert on the trails and hills that surround my home. I love being outside and feeling at one with nature.I always begin my runs at 5:30 AM. In the winter time it is cold and dark. In the summer time it is cool and bright. My habit is now formed and though I do miss a couple of runs every once in a while, I am pretty consistent in getting out on the trails.
Building Endurance
I am fairly confident right now, that on any given day, I could decide to run a marathon without any additional preparation or advanced warning.
I can do this, because of the consistency that I mentioned above. But I wasn't always in this good of shape. In fact, when I began running, a little more than ten years ago, I could barely run to the end of my street, which is only about 150 yards.
To get to where I am at now, I had to train. I didn't even begin by running. When I first started, all I did was walk. I charted a course that was about a mile and made it a point to walk it three or four times a week. I remember it being difficult for me to do. I walked up a hill by my home and then back down it and I was tired before I got to the top of the hill. There were many times that I cut through a vacant lot without ever making it to the top. It was hard for me to do, but I stuck with it.
At first, it was hard for me to even imagine running. It seemed like too much work and I didn't know I would enjoy it. I remember the first day I ran my route, instead of walking it. I felt so alive. I was surprised I could do it and my confidence was boosted. I decided to create a new route and things just kept building from there.
Pretty soon, I was regularly running routes that were 10, 15 and even 20 miles long. I began to feel energized instead of tired during the day. Even at the end of most runs, I felt like I could go farther.
Surprising Benefits
The physical benefits were amazing, but they did not compare to the emotional and mental benefits, nor are they enough to keep me running.
I now run without thinking about running. I run without feeling pain and without feeling challenged. I just run. It is so much more than physical, in fact, I hardly ever realize that it is a physical activity.
My run time is a time of meditation. It is the alone time that I use to think and make sense of everything that is going on around me. I see things more clearly when I am running than at any other time. I truly see it as a time of personal inspiration and revelation.
Our Biggest Challenge
You may be thinking. "that sounds good for you Andrew, but I am not a runner and I have no interest in becoming one." That is ok, because I am not really talking about running, I am talking about building endurance.
I love this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do – not that the nature of the thing is changed, but that our power to do is increased.
His words help me articulate that the benefit of endurance is that we become more capable of doing the things that we need to do in order to stay fit and active. Our biggest challenge may very well be that of enduring to the end. The end of what? The end of our mortal lives.
There may come in time in my life when I am unable to do any of the things that I currently do for enjoyment. This thought does not frighten me because I understand what it means to endure. It means that we find a way to make it, even when we are tired, and even when what we normally do doesn't work any more. The key is to constantly persist at making forward progress.
What are you doing to learn the lessons of endurance in your life?
What challenges are forcing you to discover new pathways to success?
How can you increase your ability to stick with a difficult task that is good for you?
I am certain that when we spend our time doing the things that foster opportunities for us to become our best, we build reserves of strength that make it possible for us to not just endure, but also to enjoy life with a smile on our face.
Live Today! Love Today!
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