A New Resolution: Not So Fast!

I started out with determination and vigor! You know how it is when you impulsively decide to do something bigger than yourself. You are determined! You want to “Just Do It!” So you “just do it” with all your might and energy and with gusto!

And then… you feel the pain. Pain that results from not being well enough prepared to live up to your mental determination! In my case, the pain came in the form of shin splints, leg cramps, and poor breathing.

If you recall, in December I determined to begin training to run in a 10k race this April. Well, I am happy to report that I am making progress…slow progress but progress, nonetheless. I am learning that slow progress is not necessarily a negative thing. In fact, it is a smart thing.

But I didn’t start out smart. Oh, I should have known it wouldn’t be an easy start. But I had hoped this time might be different. (I don’t know why this time would have been different!

“Everyone who is impatient and hasty comes surely to poverty [it puts you further behind].” Proverbs 21:5b

So after a couple of days for my legs and back to recover from the abuse they received, it was time to begin anew with a different approach...a realistic plan. If I am to succeed, I needed a plan that I knew I could stick with until my legs were conditioned well enough to start intense walking and running.

“The plans of the steadily diligent lead surely to advantage [puts you ahead in the long run]…” Proverbs 21:5a.

So with some common sense and a little counsel, I decided to use a progressive training plan. First, I will exercise to an aerobic walking video. This three mile in-home walking plan will help me to build up and condition my muscles and bones and lungs gradually over a short period of time so I will be ready and able to begin the more intense outdoor walking and running program.

Then once I have mastered the initial aerobic walking plan, then I can begin adding the outdoor long distance walking. As I get used to the long distance walking routine, I can start running short distances between my walking segments. With this gradual conditioning plan, I should eventually be able to run the entire 10k race without injuring my muscles or bones.

I feel good about this plan. In fact, it is already proving to be helpful and realistic for me. I have mastered the aerobic walking video, added the long distance walking, and, just this past week, have added two half-mile jogs into my walking routine. All this in just six weeks. And the best news is that I have not had any more shin splints or leg cramps. Not that it has been pain-free, but I feel like a success! I am motivated to continue working my plan because I am seeing slow but sure progress toward my goal.

And I can’t neglect to add that a couple of my friends have helped to motivate me by walking and running with me on occasion…pushing me all the more toward my goal. Thank you, friends!

What goal have you determinedly started out to attain only to fail due to haste and lack of preparation and planning? Not so fast! Don’t be hasty and impatient as I was. It only leads to discouragement and failure.

Let me encourage you to re-evaluate your plan. Get experienced counsel. Make a realistic, workable plan. Then get some trusted friends behind you. That combination – counsel, workable plan, and trusted friends—will be your key to progress and eventual success! It’s worth it to take the time and effort to plan for success! Indeed, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. But with a workable plan and motivation to work that plan, success is around the corner!

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win… everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control… I buffet my body and make it my slave… lest I myself should be disqualified.” ” I Corinthians 9:24, 27

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