Inspiration Sensation

Now I'm not trying to toot my own horn but I had a really cool experience with "what goes around comes around" and how motivation can go a long way.

I went running with my friend Amber Hendricks last week (absolutely LOVE her). Well we both went to run on our own, saw each other, and decided to run together. She ended up running 4 miles with me which apparently she had never done before. She wrote about me on her blog that night and said the nicest most amazing things! I didn't even realize at the time that I had helped her so much but running with me had really pushed her to keep going and kept her from focusing on how tired she was.

A few nights later Natalie (my new found friend and marathon partner, woot woot!) and I went to a spinning class taught by this dude Richie (aka cycling machine). Now I'm not sexist but generally speaking guys can bring it like no one's business and as I watched him strap on his gloves and buckle in his shoes I knew he was intense and that I was in for a sweaterrific experience. Boy was I right! We were on the front row so there was no way I could show weakness. Richie was so motivating. He knew just what to say to make me want to pedal faster, increase the resistance, and push through the fatigue. Long story short, the workout was amazing!! At the end he shared some really inspirational things. He talked about a man, weighing in at 300 lbs, who decided to race in an iron man triathlon after watching his brother cross the finish line in first place. He worked at it and just a few years later, did that race. He talked about how only we can decide how fast we run, how far we go, how great we can be, even how righteous we are. it's up to us if we succeed or fail. Our minds can do amazing things and we always have more in us than even we know. In the end, if we quit or give up, the only one we're letting down is ourselves.

If I had been working out on my own I would have quit a lot sooner than I did that night. Instead of focusing on how hard it is or how tired I feel, I need to change my attitude and focus more on how much progress I've made and how amazing I'll feel when finish and reach my goals. I helped Amber meet a major goal by encouraging and running beside her those 4 miles. Richie showed me how strong I can be and how much I have in me for that pedal pumping hour. Whether we're being inspired or doing the inspiring, it feels pretty darn good.