Passing the Test

This week has been "the test". I say that in a good way and feeling very confident that I passed the test.  I truly believe that God is constantly testing us not to stop us but to get us get stronger for the roads we travel down. Not stronger physically but mentally and emotionally. We get stronger by letting FAITH be louder than fear, we get stronger by keeping the belief in ourselves and our dreams when circumstances appear to the contrary, and we get stronger by silencing doubt. We get really good at shadow boxing the other half.   

I came into this week feel confident and very pleased that I had run 5 weeks of mileage which average 72 mpw. I woke up Monday AM feeling superb and really excited for the week ahead. I did core & hip strengthening that afternoon after a easy run which in retrospect not the smartest thing to do. I overly fatigued my hips muscles on muscles that were pretty trashed from a week of high miles. Long story short, when I went to run on Tuesday somewhere between mile 2 & 3 mile hips were feeling weird. And at exactly at mile 3.5, my left side hip was starting to lock up and within a half mile I noticed my stride was changing. I stopped to walk it out and stretch but nothing would help. I ran/walked back to my car which was about a mile away. I spent loads of time trying stretch it but it was locked down. I was lucky that I just so happen to make an appt with my ART therapist for the next day so I wasn't too concerned. Next day ART therapist tried to get all the junk out but need me to take day off and come back the next day to work the area some more. Meanwhile, I was developing a bit a cold so the extra rest was welcomed in my book. I was at peace with the decision to rest. Thursday came and hip still not feel great so more work was done in the area and another rest day. By Friday morning, I was jsut praying I was making the right decisions, I had an appt with my PT that worked the again and got my hips aligned and gave me the good ahead to run so I ran 35 minutes on the AlterG without a hitch in my stride. Woo Hoo! I think my patience and calm manner about this hip thing paid off. Post run, my hip was feeling the best it had felt all week and I was really happy that I stayed in faith and peace all week. Not letting this hip thing or minor cold or the doubt in at all! I was mentally the toughest I have been and did not let this distract me or lose my confidence. I keep reminding myself that things that appear in our life are always there to make us better even the stuff that appears negative. So while a hip issue and cold were not part of my plan at the beginning of the week, I think they worked to my advantage giving me some extra rest the my body and mind probably needed more than I registered. God is always working for the best outcome and his plan is far better than my plan. Accept what it is and know that all is working for the good.