pa·tience

noun

1. the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

Patience…Do you have it?  I don’t, especially when it comes to myself.  If I have things to do, I want to check it off my list pronto!  If I have things scheduled, I want to do them…NOW.  I’m not a fan of waiting and I don’t like to have people waiting on me.  Ask my mom and dad 😉 I guess at times I have a bit of a type A personality…but then at other times I can be really relaxed and calm.  I do have anxiety, especially heightened after my accident, but I’m not ashamed of it anymore.  I think more people struggle with anxiety than we think.  It’s important to get help and have a great support system, people who you can talk with. My hubs is my rock and I’ve turned to him a ton over the past 25 years together, we can talk about anything and I can be truly myself around him.  Also working with a therapist and learning tricks to cope with anxiety has helped me when certain situations arise that may cause my heart to really “pitter patter”.  Deep breathing exercises are one of the best helpers for me, also a little yoga mat time never hurts.

My great friend, Astrid @ Vttrailgirl shared a beautiful and touching post about what goes on in her head during a run.  I loved how she said her head is a “bad neighborhood” at times when she’s alone. (Please check it out, it’s a wonderful post)  This hit home, because so many times I feel this as well.  Not just on runs but with everyday life…. “You can’t do this” “Your injury  won’t heal in time for the 100” “You don’t fit in” etc.. but I try and let them roll by like a cloud in the sky.  I see them, and set them free.  I have had my share of negative thoughts creep back in after my little setback with my tendon/ankle.  Negative thoughts can really rule the mind if you let them, or you can choose to let Happy thoughts trump the negative ones.  You can choose to wallow in the self pity or you can see the positives all around you.  I’m now seeing my setback as a positive, because I’m certain those shoes would have caused problems down the road when my mileage really started to crank up.  I’d rather have the injury in January rather than May.  I’ve also learned, don’t fix things that aren’t broken.  This can be a life lesson for sure.

Patience.  Do you struggle with it?  In a world where we have to wait very little for anything, I feel it’s important to practice good patience. If you want to watch a movie, you download it, a song..boom, it’s in your iTunes, a gift or toilet paper, viola Amazon is there.  I was not blessed with the patience gene, haha, we know having patience isn’t something you’re born with, but I still lack it at times.  I’m a fixer, I want answers quick so I can fix whatever the problem is.  Like my ankle/tendon, I want it fixed now!  My chiropractor told me I have to rest, pure and simple if I want to heal this.  So, I’m practicing patience.   Living in the moment, is a great start to learning patience.  Being present and not letting  your mind wander to the what ifs.  I also feel the guilt settle in when I’m sitting with cranberries on my ankle doing nothing, but what I do see as well, is a family that pitches in and helps one another.  From doing dishes to laundry, shoveling donkey manure, or snow, we make it work.  We make it work, because we love and support one another.  We support each others hopes and dreams, from being a golfer on the PGA, to lighting it up in the NBA, to running ultra 100 mile races, we are all there to allow those dreams to grow.  So I’m making a conscience effort to be patient, especially with myself.  I’m also learning to love myself, for who I am, not for anyone else, but for me.  I’m gonna cut myself a little slack and know in the end, it’ll all work out.  Because I surround myself with people I love, who love me back for who I am, always.

I’m feeling much better.  It’s been 19 days since I did damage to my tendon, but each day I see improvement, walking is much better!  We all gotta have a little faith that everything will be ok, right?  If anyone out there struggles with patience, anxiety, etc, let me know what your tricks are to help soothe your soul………..cheers xoxo

Until next time,

See you on the trails soon & happy training….. xoxo

Krista 🙂