Pain Vs. Misery

Misery is optional; pain is not.   

Misery as defined by Webster is "a state of great unhappiness and emotional distress".  Pain on the other hand is "trouble, care, or effort taken to accomplish something".

I first heard the above quote from a pastor a couple weeks ago.  The quote was so profound that I could not stop thinking about it.  Misery versus pain can relate to so many aspects of life in general, and my life specifically.  When I first heard this quote, my mind immediately went to running.  Earlier that morning I had run 14.25 miles as a part of my preparation for my upcoming marathon. When I arrived to church someone asked me, "Don't your legs ever hurt?"  

I quickly responded, "Yes, of course!" 

This person then asked, "How do you push past the pain?"  I tried to explain that some days are easier than others, that it helps to have a partner to talk to so they can distract you from the pain, and there are times when it becomes too much and you must walk for a bit.  The pain is inevitable.  Misery, however, is optional.

Throughout life we all experience pain; divorce, let downs, loss of a loved one, etc.  It is up to us, however, to not allow this pain to turn into a state of misery. Too bad this is so much easier to say than do, right?!  As I like to remember, "It is progress, not perfection" I am after.

Lord, please help me to choose to accept life's pain and to not allow it to turn into misery.  Amen.

On 09/15/12 at the Run United Live United 10k race, 

my friend won 2nd place in her age division

and I won 1st place female finisher!

 

It was an exciting day for the kids too!  

They ran in their first ever race 

and came in at first and second place!

 

Where was July?

Where did the month of July go?  Why does it seem as though time flies so quickly?  Who can I ask to be able to receive more hours in the day?  Between working out at the dairy farm, to training for the Nike Women’s Marathon all while fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society, to relationships with friends/family, who has time to sit down and blog?

Here’s a typical day’s schedule:

4:30am – wake up

4:50am – run 5-6 miles at the gym

5:45am – battle ropes & strength bag class at the gym

6:45am – get ready for work

7:30am – leave for the dairy farm

4:00pm – grocery store

5:00pm – cook dinner

6:00pm – eat dinner

7:00pm – quality time with loved ones / prepare upcoming fundraising events

9:00pm – study for upcoming test

10:00pm – bed

How do I stay motivated to work out and run? 

     1)      It’s this girl…

I don’t ever want to forget how tired, unhealthy, and unhappy I felt 65 pounds heavier.  

     2)      It’s people like Kim.  Kim is on my “Team in Training” team. She, like me, is training for the Nike Women’s Marathon.  Unlike me, however, Kim has battled Lymphoma and has now been in remission since December.  Hearing her story of how she went through chemo, fought, volunteered at a Leukemia & Lymphoma event, and then decided she too could run, is very inspiring.  As I am training for the marathon and am tired / in pain / want to stop, thinking of Kim helps give me inspiration to keep on keeping on.  

Thank you Kim for being an inspiration!

Thank you in advance for your support! Together we can and will find a cure.

 

A special shout out to all of you who have already donated.  You are very much appreciated!  If you'd like to join "Team Strong", click on the picture above, click on the "donate now" button found on the right-hand-side of screen, or go to www.tinyurl.com/runstrongrun.