A Quiet Leader

 

I find it enlightening that as soon as I released myself from the obligation to work out as one of my “have to do” items, I am able to get out and work out so much easier. As soon as I made it something I want to do, rather than “have to” it became easy. Try it! :D

Last night I asked my friend Liana from Vegan Ana if she wanted to go walking with me. She is in much better shape than I am, and could easily jog/run. But she is so great and walks with me. It’s good though because she keeps up a great pace and it gets my heart pumping. There is a park/rec-center by her house, and it has a trail that runs around the entire park that is about 1.2 miles. We walked it once and I was feeling pretty good so we decided to walk it again. I decided I wanted to do some jogging. She had her iPod with a stop watch so we gave it a go. We would jog for about a minute and then walk for two. She was SOOO patient with me, encouraging me to go farther, or again, but not being pushy.

Liana and I have been best friends since she was in kindergarten and I was in preschool. It’s crazy to think that we have been friends for about 22 years. As you can imagine, we know each other very well. We can finish each other’s sentences; we can have one word conversations, or sometimes even just a look (drives our husbands crazy). She’s seen me at my worst, and (hopefully) at my best. We made it through the elementary years playing with our troll dolls, my little ponies, riding our brother's skate boards and listening to Billy Joel on our walkmans, and playing in the “fort”. We made it through Jr. High laughing a lot, having tons of sleepovers with our little group, riding our bikes everywhere, and “going out” with our first boyfriends (who happened to be twin brothers). We made it through high school by laughing even more, playing musical instruments, singing in choirs, being on stage crew (yes we were those kind of girls – in other words… nerds!), stealing each other’s boyfriends, kissing lots of boys, dealing with depression & heartbreak, and other normal teen-age things. Our friendship continues to grow, and for that I am grateful!

After all that, I’m still learning about her. Last night I learned that Liana is a quiet leader. It’s my own fault that I’ve never really known that about her. We had these nick names for each other when we were younger. See, when she wouldn’t do what I told her, I’d call her “Stubborn” and then she’d call me “bossy”. Which really… I was (still am?)SOOOO bossy! So I never really gave her the chance to lead. But last night as we walked/jogged, she coached me through it. Helped me with my breathing, encouraged me when I felt like giving up, nudged me to run a little longer or again, and was really supportive. She didn’t make me feel dumb for being completely out of breath after running for 60 seconds (a little pathetic - I have a long way to go – but I will get there!). And even though she could run circles around me, she didn’t make me feel like I was holding her back.

I just wanted to say a BIG “Thank You” to Liana; it really meant a lot to me that you helped me over this hurdle. I feel like I could go out and try it again. I love you girl!! If you haven’t had a chance to read her new weight loss blog, you should go check it out. She is trying a very interesting eating plan and I know she would love to have you read about it. She is a new blogger, so let’s all support her (as she has supported me)! She will be a guest blogger hopefully this week or next, so watch for that!

Thanks again Liana!!!