I’m not as much of a Stars Wars fan as I could be but I admire the Jedi. When selecting a title this quote came smashing in to my mind, and it’s appropriate so here we go.
I have been participating in sprint distance tri-races off and on since I was a teenager. They began almost by mistake and little did I know how much they would help me.
They’ve helped me deal with intense emotions. Triathlon training helped me with break-up emotions, anger, confusion, frustration, helplessness, fear, on and on-basically anything mentally unhealthy I can think of. They have been my go-to major “coping mechanism”.
Here we are today and there is no “tri”, no triathlon that is, it was canceled. The one I had planned on doing in August locally will not be taking place. It’s ok, I’ve had to deal with it and I’m praying about what other training program I can do instead. Thankfully my husband writes workout programs for fun-so it will be determined soon. With two small children and a small budget, I was excited to have a race we didn’t need to travel to. I strongly believe everything happens for a reason-even if we never know why.
Most, but not all of you reading this are in fact: moms. There’s a lot going on in your life. You sacrifice a lot. You work a lot. You do a lot. Such is life, and being alive. It’s a gift-such a gift to be able to do a lot-or a little.
Sometimes a little is best.
I choose what I give my time to. I choose what I eat. I choose a multitude of things daily. So do you.
I made some choices and set some goals. If I had to number them I think the top physical goal I’ve made would be:
#1 Be healthy for my family and myself: I am a part of my family so what benefits me should benefit them in this way.
As much as I can help it, I aspire to have a healthy capable body to run and play with my children. To climb mountains with my husband. To enjoy the life I’ve been given to the fullest. Now I am not perfect, I fail, and have set backs but this goal centers me and inspires me on.
I have a small heart defect that was not corrected when I was a child. I am not able to have caffeine, too much sugar, or too much salt because of this. My heart reacts to these things by beating rapidly and causing me to feel dizzy and sick. I see a cardiologist routinely and every time it’s been a good report. I’m thankful each visit and each day for this.
The mom stereotype, or maybe American mom stereotype, of coffee in one hand doughnut in the other isn’t my reality. I find solidarity with the moms who thrive without such commodities. Don’t worry, I thankfully can* handle dark chocolate that has low levels of caffeine, it’s basically my favorite food, and decaf is pleasant as well.
What’s interesting is that in my tri-training my heart adapts to the rhythm of the pace I set. It, along with my mind, finds peace in the “predictability” and the purpose of the moment. Scientifically there may be studies on these facts but I’ve yet to find them specifically. Tri-training has given me a love for endurance sports, where my body locks into a set pace, and isn’t stressed by bursts of energy. My mental focus during a race is on finishing with energy left, not pushing myself too far, and slowing/stopping when necessary. Survival is more important than finishing.
I say these things to give you hope. You may not be in the best health. You may not be in the best shape. You may not like swimming, biking or running at all-and those things are “ok”.
What is my interest will not be yours, thankfully we are all different. You are beautifully made to find joy in a healthy way that you will have to find. My encouragement to you is that you CAN choose to make your health a priority. It takes work, flexibility, support, and more but it’s possible. It’s worth the fight.
You can make small changes to your diet, if that’s where you’d like to begin. You can get active, doing something fun you enjoy. You can involve your family and inspire them as you accomplish your goals-modelling to them what a healthy life can be. With the many resources we have at our fingertips these days the question is which activity to pick.
You can tell your family that you want to support them in their activities as well and do them together, because there is no try, there is only do.
