Week 9 – Committed

Nadia Jones will be covering her training for the 3 months leading up to the Tuscaloosa Half Marathon. If you would like to follow her journey, you can visit this blog each week for updates!

Here are the weekly summaries so far if you want to catch up, if not scroll down for Week 4+5 updates!

• Week 1 – I cover The Galloway Run Walk Run Method, and I attempt to define the word “postpartum.”
• Week 2 – Stop trying to buy your training shoes yourself and go to a running specialty store. I also discuss how NOT to clean your running shoes.
• Week 3 – A good book, a New Year’s resolution, and some lessons from my first love (basketball) gave me some good #thoughtswhilerunning.
• Week 4+5 – Lessons on SelfDiscipline from Navy SEALs and how it relates to physical training
• Week 6 – How "getting benched” can produce perseverance, a reflection on Jalen Hurts’ journey to his big Super Bowl win and how we can grow during challenging times
• Week 8 – Being “Type A” and adopting the mantra, “Done better than perfect.”
• Week 9 – #ThoughtsAfterRunning, need I say more?

Tuesday morning when my alarm went off at 5 am, I did not want to go for a run. Forget the whole “habit stacking” process that I talked about in Week 4+5, the coffee wasn’t doing the trick. The thought of staying under my covers and going back to sleep was tempting – yet, I forced myself to get up and get dressed. I think in this moment I understood what David Goggins (Week 4+5) meant by not believing in motivation.

When I stepped on the treadmill, I literally asked myself, "Why on earth did I get out of my warm comfortable bed to come run on this treadmill at 5:21 am?" In that moment I really did not have the answer. I was SO NOT feeling it that I couldn’t even hype myself up with some good beats.

I decided if I was going to be running and walking at a snail’s pace, I might be able to catch up on the sermon I missed from last Sunday due to having a sick kiddo.  A little background info here – Jeremy Burrage, the pastor of my church, does nothing at a snail’s pace. Including preaching. I pressed play and slowly turned the speed up on the treadmill as I gradually reached a comfortable running and listening pace.

Jeremy’s sermon was on 2 Thessalonians: 1:1-12 Growing in Faith, Increasing in Love, Steadfast in Hope.

When I stepped off the treadmill, I had the answer to my question about why I got out of bed to run. I committed to it. That’s why.

I don’t take commitment lightly, which is probably why I didn’t commit myself to much after having my daughters and hopping on this postpartum roller coaster. Well, I did commit to eating a bowl of Bluebell Vanilla Bean ice cream every night while breastfeeding a colicky baby (IYKYK). TBH, I didn’t even want to write this blog post for Week 9. I did though, because I committed to writing it as well. I’ve always said that writing helps me process life a little more, so I am thankful I sat down to put the pieces together a bit.

Jeremy also reminded our church a few weeks ago that the Bible is the LIVING word of God. Meaning the scripture isn’t just “written text,” but a dynamic and powerful force that can actively transform lives. The same verses I read today, could teach me something drastically different tomorrow. Maybe listening to a sermon on being “steadfast in hope” was a subliminal reminder that I got up and ran on Tuesday because I was “committed." 
 

Quote of the Week – Week 9

"Most people fail, not because of lack of desire, but, because of lack of commitment". — Vince Lombardi

Playlist Week 9

Growing in Faith, Increasing in Love, Steadfast in Hope – Jeremy Burrage, Capstone Church