How to [keep moving] "Steady On"

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This is an update of my original post, The 'Steady On' Plan, from October 2016. ​

I have been competing as a runner since I was a scrawny seventh grader, pushing hard after goals that a coach (who saw more potential in me than I saw in myself) put before me. In those earliest years of competing I had a lot of fun being the youngest member of the varsity team. I got attention for my “go after it no matter what” attitude that I inherited from a lineage of hardworking farmers. And I grew into my identity as an endurance runner (“Jaci Jaguar”) and a dedicated athlete. I mapped my eating, sleeping and social activities around my running. All of this provided for me habits in discipline and work ethic. Both of which I am grateful I was able to take with me to college and adult life. ​

Yet, there was a negative side to my running being formed out of a need to defeat the competition and measure up to the goals set before me: when there was no clear goal or competition I would quit running. This hit hardest in the off season when neither a coach or teammates were around and then post college, when my life of competing on a team had ended.

I had to figure out how to keep running, not for competitive reasons, but to sustain physical, emotional and spiritual health. It took almost 10 years to figure this out. I thought that competition was my best motivator, so I would sign up for a race (5km, 10km, half-marathon, or marathon), print out a training plan, and then depend on my habits of discipline and work ethic to follow through with it.

However, I discovered time and time again, the weeks following the race I would fall into a very long seasons of “rest” (I.e. fill up life with everything except exercise.). Then, with disappointment as my motivator,  I would sign up for a race and start the process again. It was a little like yo-you dieting but with running.

This up and down of pushing hard and then doing nothing began taking a toll on my body because it made me prone to injury. And the older I got, the more my body screamed at me for my dips into sedentariness, followed by amping up miles quickly to get in race shape. I also knew, it was not healthy and I needed a better way. A different goal. A goal that would allow me to be steady and consistent, rather than reactionary and driven by external standards. I needed something that would motivate me to run all year long. 

This is how it would work: my age x 1 minute of running x 5 days a week. 

Why this formula?

Because it was a distance I knew I could complete even if I was sick, busy with life or the thermometer read -25F. It was a distance I would not be able to talk myself out of easily. And the rest days gave me flexibility. ​

So, I would aim to run 33 minutes, 5 days a week for an entire year. I would focus on being steady for one year. And if this proved to be a successful approach to a life of steadiness in this area, I would bump up my minutes to 34 on my 34th birthday. ​

I think it is important for you to also know that the reason I needed this steadiness wasn’t just because of my love for running. I knew that I needed it to keep my mental health in check. It was medicine I needed to be taking consistently. ​

There is  a history of depression and anxiety in my family. And in 2007, it was brought to my attention I have some tendencies and habits that, when combined with my family history, flag me as a candidate for depression and anxiety. The preventative prescription:  ​

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1. When feeling alone or blue, pick up the phone and invite a friend to coffee,
2. Have a hobby that is inexpensive and brings joy, along with a sense of accomplishment
3. Exercise for 30 minutes, 3-5 days a week. (For me, I get to kill two birds with one stone because running is both my hobby and my exercise.)

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So, on my 33rd birthday I set out on the  Steady On plan. All was going well. . . for 7 months. I had only missed one run and was feeling incredibly steady and balanced. I had even run a couple races without using a typical training plan. But, in July my steadiness came to a halt. It was discovered that I had a very serious hernia (a result of pregnancy and delivery, not running). Repair needed to be done as soon as possible.

Post-surgery, I was required to take 8 weeks off. Tough. Times. ​

But having experienced how successful Steady On training was prior to surgery, I was hopeful and motivated to get back on track for the few weeks that I had left before my birthday. So I jumped back in to the plan. Not because I needed to prove that I could run a certain distance or pace. Not because I wanted to lose weight. But because I knew Steady On was going to be part of my process of regaining steadiness physical, emotional and spiritual health--wholeness.  A wholeness I needed in order to live out the purposes and plans God had for my life.

In the 7 months leading up to my setback, I had witnessed how Steady On had not just steadied my running, but had balanced my life because it gave me consistent  time away to think and reflect, time with friends to go deep in conversations, and evidence that even in growing older, I could grow stronger.

When I turned 34, I started a new year of Steady On. And I made it the entire year running steady. Then again when I turned 35, 36, 37,  last month I turned 38 and started again. Yes, five years later the Steady On plan is still getting me up and out the door on a consistent bases.

​It has not always been easy or convenient. Some weeks I’ve had  to do a day of double minutes to make up for a missed day. And there have been a couple weeks each year that I miss the mark by a day's worth of minutes. But it is rare and because I have run Steady On  for so long, missing a day one week doesn't send me into tailspin that knocks me off course. Sometimes it isn't until a couple years of sticking to a goal that you start to see just how much tomorrow's decisions really are dependent on yesterday's choices. I won't claim it get's easier to stick to the goal, but the past successes certainly gives me a different self-monologue when I start trying to give myself an excuse to stay home. 

Steady On doesn't just build strong muscles, it builds a strong mind, one that can conquer thoughts of doubt, excuses, and self-pity. ​It is this battle that most needs winning in order to keep moving forward in any area of life: faith, relationships, work, and running. 

​But here is what I have learned, I can be steady. In a season of life when it seems the only way to live is to react to what is going on around me, I have found there is another way. I am not perfect at this steady way of life, but I know that it exists, and I know that I have the ability and strength to to live steadily moving forward, rather than yo-yoing back and forth based on emotions or circumstances.

Running has taught me many lessons over the years, and this is another one of them: I believe we serve a God of peace, order and purpose. And for me, those things become clearer and believable when my life is moving steady, rather than in roller coaster fashion. I believe God takes the mundane, the hobbies and passions of our lives and he crafts his intimate messages for us into them. He uses what makes me uniquely me, and those things that make you uniquely you to communicate himself to each of us. He speaks to our hearts and reminds us he guides our steps and appoints our destinies.

Sometimes, I think we just don’t slow down enough to create and commit to a habit that can bring a steady rhythm to our weeks. Even if it is not running, we all need consistent times built into our lives to allow our hearts to steady on what He is showing us through the life he has given us to live each day. If running isn't your thing, ask Him to show you what that might be for you.

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Questions for Reflection:

• What is on hobby that you enjoy and allows you to feel refreshed in mind, spirit, and body when you are doing it?
• Do you make consistent time for hobbies and/or exercise each week? Why or why not?
• What is an attainable goal that you could set that would bring some steadiness to your life?

​Find a friend and tell them of your goal. Ask them to help you stay committed to it. Ask God to give you the strength and power to work toward wholeness and steadiness through the goal you have set above.

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​Songs to add to your playlist:

• Steady On, Point of Grace 
• Steady Heart, Steffany Gretzinger

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This is part of a series of posts that encourage those of you who already run, and inspire those of you who are thinking about picking it up. But even if running is nowhere in your past, present or future, I pray something about the message or the reflection questions will relate to your life. I would love it if we could use this space as a place to have a conversation about the questions posted at the bottom. So, please lend me your thoughts in the comment section below. It will spur me on, I just know it. ​