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The Solo Workout

I had a fairly mild week, between a fast walk on Monday, a decent run on Wednesday and a tough run on Saturday, I haven't done much. My bike ride was called off today and my friend who I also work out with is going to be unavailable for a week (blech), so workouts will be much more challenging and a lot less fun... Remember, I am a social athlete! Right about now, I wish I knew where I lost my iPod even though I do not like working out with music.

I am a believer in mind over matter and this past week I let matter take over and so now I have a choice to make... let things continue to be complicated or be intentional with everything I do.

Quotes move me, motivate me and build me up. There are a number of quotes that I draw from and I plan to use this week to move me along:
"I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul." 
It is probably no secret that this quote from Invictus has empowered me to take control when faced with difficult situations. It was shared with me at the perfect time in my life, and for that I am thankful. This is one of the quotes that is going to help push me through my solo workout week. If I can draw on my ability to master my workouts that will be a gift.
"Life happens outside of your comfort zone."
One of the best gifts I was given in the summer of 2012, was learning how to do things that scare me. I went zip lining, learned to shoot guns, and in general did things that were totally uncomfortable. I challenged everything in my being intentionally. This summer things have been challenged less intentionally but I have the best people to face those challenges with!!! I said to a friend, just today, that when thing become stagnant I get bored and walk away. My friend and I try to mix up our workouts for that reason exactly. As a matter of fact, since I began riding with Sue, we have ridden a new route every single week. I suppose working out alone is going to take me back to being outside of my comfort zone. I'll simply view it as a new challenge every time I workout.

On a very different note, I am fairly lucky to be a person who over shares. And by doing so, I take myself out of my comfort zone all the time. The people who embrace that and go on that journey with me, are the people who, after years of knowing each other, our relationships are still growing. Those friends truly give me the most amazing gift. Again, very thankful...
"Live on and be yourself."
"Strip away the fear, underneath it's all the same love." 
I'm officially in love with Macklemore, with that being said, these two quotes are from his very powerful song 'Same Love'! Now, I can pull quotes out of a larger context and make those quotes meaningful to serve a different purpose. First, I have an affinity for the song because of its' true meaning but I also extract those two quotes because it is so important to be yourself. For me, being myself is acknowledging that the solo workout is going to be hard. Here's the thing... I used to love running so much that a solo run was actually fun, however my motivations have shifted (thankfully) and now I have a fear of the solo workout... I am literally going to have to rip the band aid off and do it! The fear of going alone is rooted in so much more than I can talk about here...
"A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself."
Jim Morrison said that... And the fact of the matter is we very rarely find people in our lives who allow us to be 100% ourselves. I'm lucky, I have that kind of friend. I have a couple actually but one of them was presented to me through my athleticism and another one of them has been there every step of the way through my journey to becoming an athlete. I can't deny that, and I won't let that be taken away from me. I remember when I ran my first ever 11 miler up in Bowling Green... Having Chris along for that ride was an amazing gift and she is one of those people who I would say has nurtured my whole person, while supporting my athleticism.

Anyway, all of this to say I don't want to do solo workouts, but I will. I'm thankful for the gift of friends that my athleticism has given me, especially those who do give me total freedom to be myself, and allow me to face my fears and embrace every tear I shed while stepping outside of my comfort zone.

So here is to being intentional and enjoying the solo workout.

Although, I will be even more thankful when my workout buddy is available again!!!

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