Years ago, when I started 9KidFitness, my life revolved around nine children, homeschooling, and making running and fitness a priority to fit in with my other priorities. The miles I counted were mostly the ones logged before breakfast.
A lot has changed since then.
Today, many of my children are raising families of their own. I’m a grandmother to eight with four more on the way.
My work has changed too. Im not homeschooling anymore but I am still writing, a lot…but more about things pertaining to the spiritual life. I’m only recently getting back to writing about wellness and fitness too.
There are mornings when I still lace up my running shoes, but these days I’m just as likely to head out for a long walk. Often those walks are with my husband (really long walks!). Sometimes they’re with my grandchildren (much shorter ones!).
I’ve also become a bit of a ClassPass junkie – where I can find a variety of fitness classes near my home (I don’t even have to do them before breakfast). I find myself rotating between barre, strength training, and stretching classes. Mixing things up makes it interesting but it’s probably a wise thing to do regardless.
When I stop to think about it, I am still logging miles, they are just different these days. While I am no longer training for marathons (never say never), I’m still training for life. I’m more convinced that strength and fitness continue to be essentials as we get older.
Change is good
My body has changed along the way, too, as those miles have left their mark. I’ve still got the nagging hamstring, but no longer the IT band issue. I’ve developed a strange toe pain, and my lack of faithful stretching after every run is coming home to roost. There are wrinkles where there weren’t before, crepey skin on my legs, and muscles that don’t recover as quickly as they once did.
Instead of seeing those changes as something to fight against, I’m learning to see them as reminders that this body, too, is on a journey. It’s aging, just as God designed it.
As the years have added more gray to my hair, they’ve also deepened my faith. Perhaps I’ve become wiser, or perhaps just more aware of what is worth holding onto and what was never meant to last. The years have certainly taken a few things. They’ve taken speed, flexibility, and yes, a little collagen. But they’ve also given me so much more: grandchildren, a deeper faith, and a heart that’s a little less attached to the things that once seemed so important.
Looking back, I can see the mile markers that have shaped me. Some I celebrated. Others I would have gladly skipped. But each one carried me a little farther down the road.
So here’s to another season of running, walking, praying, learning, and paying attention to the ordinary ways God meets us along the way.
I hope you’ll join me for this next stretch of the journey.
One mile marker at a time.
