I hate running. In fact, the reason why I took up kettlebell training was mostly due to a) my body, after years of playing competitive basketball, realized that running long distance was not best suited for my joints and b) that ultra long endurance sports were just not well suited for my nervous system (running is a serious stress on the body, and these days, I am all about alleviating stress from a number of things, including exercise). I will admit that it never occurred to me that I had been running incredibly fast, for a very long time, away from a number of things in my life that had caused me a great deal of distress. Over the past weekend, I took the time to face those things I was “running away from”. For once in my highly competitive life, I decided to set aside all my urges to overcome obstacles and actually look at those things that were bothering me at my core. That’s when I realized something very important, very real, very “raw” so to speak.
You can’t outrun pain. Eventually, the body breaks down. Injury sets in, and you are left in a position to take time off and heal.
It’s a humbling place to be, that place called “the healing process”. Sometimes we are faced with having to manage a number of good things on top of a number of not so good things. That’s exactly where I am right now. Business is great, but there are other areas in my life that don’t seem to match up to those said “good things”. It’s perplexing. At times, it can be so overwhelming that it is tough to swallow and digest. Nevertheless, dealing with the super awesome and the super not so awesome has brought me to a place of really “digging deep” on a personal level. For the first time in my life I am making sense of everything that has been laid out for me on my plate. With that being said, I have a confession to make and a resolution to stand by for this new year on the horizon.
I have been running too much, and I have been feeling super burnt out because of it. I don’t want to run anymore. In fact, I want to be still, I want to breathe for a second, and I want to just let the world know I have nothing to prove. I want to be open, to be honest, to be “raw” and real with everyone I meet. I am not perfect, and the world needs more people out there admitting their faults and imperfections instead of attempting to be holier than the rest of the general population. Truth be told, it has been a struggle for a number of years to get my life to the level it has reached recently. I am grateful, but that doesn’t mean that certain areas of life have been 100% healed for the better. Growing as a person requires a lot of hard work, and I am learning now that sometimes, you have to be willing to admit that you are still working, still trying to master certain “weak points” in order to become a more well-rounded individual. Life is a lot like strength training in that respect. Sometimes you need to dig deep, find out exactly where you feel limited, and then spend extra time working on those limitations to unleash serious power!
I’m done running. I’m done trying to run from those things in life that hinder my success. I am not running through the pain that still lingers. It’s time to heal, time to mend those weaker areas and unleash my potential.
How many of us out there are running away from the things that cause us distress? How many of us are trying to out run our inner pain? Really, what we need to do is slow down, take a breathe, and heal. After all, strength training isn’t so much about how hard we can push ourselves. It’s about recovering from the stress we experienced and coming back stronger than what we once were before.
Stop running. Breath. Let yourself recover and heal. It’s worth it in the end! In fact, you’ll be stronger than you ever thought possible the moment you let yourself go!
Eat smart! Train hard! Enjoy your life!
Janelle Pica, RKC and PMF1 Instructor
