Today, my morning run was along a beach. It was a beach I'd run on before. I roughly knew the landmarks. However, this morning, I couldn't see any of them. It was foggy. Really foggy. So foggy, it was hard to see the condos from the hard-packed sand at the water's edge.Fog is nice on the one hand. It keeps the hot sun off of you. On the other hand, it make those landmarks hard to see. You end up running into the abyss ... not sure how far you've gone and not sure how far you've yet to go to get to your destination.
It occurred to me that the process of getting healthy can be a lot like running into the fog every once in awhile.
When I was bigger. I knew where I wanted to go. I just had no way to "see" how to get there. But I had to keep putting one foot in front of the other because the only thing I knew for sure was that I wouldn't find it by staying still. I wouldn't find it by staying where I was and doing what I was doing.
What I learned through this process was that when you're on sort of unfamiliar territory, those little landmarks on the way to your goal are important. They help you know you are on track. On pace. Accomplishing those smaller goals along the way give you the courage and strength and belief in yourself that you CAN do this.
The truth is, today's run felt farther than it really was because I couldn't see where I was going. I couldn't see the ice cream shop. Or the house with the elephant tusk entryway. Or the pier that is my turnaround until I was right on top of them. I didn't get the satisfaction of seeing that I was getting closer.
But I kept running anyway. Because I knew they were up ahead, regardless of what was in my viewfinder.
And I did.
(Forgot the sunscreen, too, and I'll pay for that tomorrow when I'm in the shade.)
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