Two years ago Eldon and I were in Canada and we spent a lovely evening visiting with a dear friend of mine from my college days. I had not seen Binder (pronounced Binda) in a few years and I was surprised at how good she looked – all thin, trim and beautiful. I would be lying if I said I was not a little envious. When we were at university together, I was the one who was overly thin (more like a bag of bones) and now I was definitely heavier than her! When I asked her what she had been doing, she told me that she was training to run in a marathon. My initial reaction was, “Why the heck would anyone want to do that? It sounds like a lot of work to me and for what?” However, looking at her very trim figure I could think of a very good reason to do so! Plus, I remember when, back in college, she had told me that she was going to go sky-diving. My first reaction then too was that she was stark raving crazy . . . but then I thought, “Why not?” We did our first jump together back then and I went on to do about 20 more, only stopping when I met Eldon and realized that the thought of me sky-diving was scary to him!
A Very Lofty Goal
Anyway, when we got back from this trip, my mind kept churning this running thing over. I told the family that I was thinking about taking up running and one evening, Eldon and William, our youngest son, agreed to come with me. At this point, I had not run any distance at all in over 30 years so we decided to take it easy. We would simply run up the street and back again. Boy, that was a killer! We got to the top of the street with me puffing and wheezing, and I was unable to make the run back, much to William’s very vocal amusement. However, I now had a whole new admiration for marathon runners and the seed of desire to one day have this particular achievement under my belt was planted. It was a very lofty goal, especially for one as unfit as I was, but if Binder could do it, then surely I could too!
Binder and I exchanged several e-mails after this and I told her about my failure at running. She then shared with me a runner’s training course that she had done where you basically begin by running one minute at a time and then take a break. This is a 13-week course designed to take a total beginner up to running a 10k, and I decided to give it a try. While Eldon did not have the same competitive streak that I had providing him with an incentive, we do like to do things together so he decided to join me.
Eliminating Resistance
We started pretty late in 2013 so we did not get very far through the course that year. As such, we started the course again earlier in 2014. The first one-minute runs were dreadful and I thought the three-minute runs were going to kill me. I seemed to spend every second just willing that running interval to come to an end! Then we progressed to the five-minute runs. We had learned the importance of pacing, and my lung-power was improving so the physical aspect of running was kind of easier, but then the desire began to wane. Why did I really want to torture myself in this way? There were much better things I could do with my time than going running three times a week. There was actually an internal battle going on: the running was boring and time consuming, but look at the health benefits that Binder had gained as a result. By this time, Eldon had put together a compilation of his favorite running music so the boredom factor was not an issue for him, but playing my favorite songs just did not work for me. I was close to giving up when I remember the InnerTalk program for running and decided to give that a try. In a very short time my inner resistance simply began to fade and running became easier and easier. In fact, it was becoming fun!
Running Meditation
I was still left with the time issue as I like to be productive and there was so much more I could do with the time I was spending on running. As I have mentioned in several of my newsletters, my life is always very busy so finding time to meditate used to be a problem—until I learned how to meditate while I worked! As such, I decided to see if I could meditate while running. This was a very interesting experience and very successful. By now we were onto longer runs—10, 15 and 20 minutes— and the sound of our feet pounding the street turned out to be very conducive to turning inwards and accessing my higher self. I have written before about how I like to connect with my higher creative side right before I go to sleep, to find solutions to problems etc. Now, I found I could do this while running—I would write newsletters in my head, chapters for various books I am writing, think through problems and come up with answers, or simply enjoy the feeling of being connected to something higher than myself.
Success!
By the end of 2014, Eldon and I both ran our first 10K! The sense of achievement was marvelous as was the feeling of health and vitality that we had. I had overcome my inner self-sabotaging mechanisms that would have made me quit when we were still only running the five-minute intervals, and this simply made me feel good. I had done it! Plus I had found a way to both meditate and access my creative side while I did it, making the time spent even more productive and adding a whole new dimension to my life. And then there was all the quality time that Eldon and I spent together working towards the goal. All in all, it was a very satisfying experience.
This year, there were several delays to Eldon and I beginning our running again, including a nasty allergic reaction to an antibiotic that knocked me out for several weeks. Not having done any real exercise for about 6 months (winters in Spokane are not really conducive to going out running), the beginning of our training session was not as easy as I had thought it would be. But we are well into the stride of it now, and fingers crossed, I hope to run a half marathon by the end of this year.
Your Challenge
I have experienced so many benefits from taking up running and now I want to challenge you to do something that will get you up and active so you can experience the body and spirit benefits too. As such, as this Independence Day weekend special offer from InnerTalk, you can get out Fit and Healthy album, a $250+ value, for only $98 and I will throw in the InnerTalk Running CD (in music) as well. If you want to actually try the same running course that Eldon and I have done, you can find the course here. But whatever your preferred form of exercise, our Fit and Healthy album will make things easier for you and help you keep going, even when your own inner saboteur may wish to interfere. Click here to get your Fit and Healthy collection now, and write “Running15”in the comments box at then end of your order. I will then make sure you receive the InnerTalk Running CD f ree of charge! (Do not add the Running CD to your shopping cart as then you will be charged for it).
I hope you have a wonderful Independence Day weekend and that you achieve great success in gaining a healthier, happier you by the end of this summer.
Wishing you Love, Light and Laughter, always!
Ravinder Taylor
P.S. If you enjoy these newsletters, please remember to share them with your friends and family. There are easy share buttons at the top of this newsletter. You can also friend Eldon and Me on Facebook as we both love interacting with you all. You can also read (and subscribe to) Eldon’s blog here.
This is a limited time special offer that expires at midnight on Sunday, July 5th, 2015
Due to licensing agreements, this offer is not valid in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Viet Nam, U.K. or Ireland. Please contact our distributors in those territories to see what specials they are offering.
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“I absolutely love the OZO experience! It is the quickest, easiest, most effective sports psychology tool I have ever used. Eldon Taylor, thank you for talking to my mind in a way that has convinced me that I am a champion.”
~ Debbie Lawrence
U.S.A Olympian