Thursday, March 08, 2007

Sweet Rewards

Rewards for making the “Right Choice”!

This is about the time of the year that I tend to get a bit frustrated and impatient with my training. I have had enough winter that the elements no longer entertain me but rather tend to be an annoyance. There have been a couple glimpses of Spring that hint it is on the horizon, yet winter still prevails. It is the time of pre-Tri season where training hours are increasing and I begin to crave nicer weather and more hours of daylight. Sometimes this time of the year for me, can become a bit harder to find the motivation to make the right choice. I have spent the past 5 months, digging deep and I am ready for some fun training in the sun and some warm weather to warm my body and to fill me with inspiration.

I am grateful that the past few weeks of training have blessed me with some nice rewards for making the hard choice, which was the right choice for me!

1) Right Choice: getting out of my warm bed, after a sleepless night in the dark of the early morning, in freezing temps to go to the gym to do my swim

Reward…getting to share a lane with a friend in the pool that I didn’t know would be there

2) Right Choice: not having Red Wine with my Spaghetti dinner because I had a hard run I needed to do early in the morning

Reward…I had a great run & met all my Heart Rate goals

3) Right Choice: deciding to squeeze in a long run between clients, and dreading heading out the door in the thick gloomy fog again
Reward…having the fog lift and the sun come out ½ way through my run

4) Right Choice: going to do my swim workout knowing that is was during “family swim” time at the gym

Reward…finding out “family swim” had been canceled that night and Ihad my own lane for an entire workout
5) Right Choice: choosing to improve the quality of the food I fuel my body with

Reward…being able to eat almost twice as much food and still losing 3 pounds

6) Right Choice: doing a 3 hour trainer ride by myself

Reward…having a great 1 ½ hour speaker phone conversation with my dad

7) Right Choice: doing a 1 hour 30 minute run in the early a.m. when it was 17 degrees because that was the only time possible to get it in

Reward…saw a beautiful sunrise, heard the birds sing, I smelled spring, all my favorite songs seemed to play on my radio, saw blue sky
8) Right Choice: sacrificed a training session because I sensed my daughter needed some quality one on one time

Reward…a very long, meaningful, honest and heartwarming conversation that deepened our love and respect for each other

9) Right Choice: I gave my 1 ½ hour massage appointment to my husband who I felt needed it much more than I did at the time

Reward…seeing him be blessed and his cup be filled by the act of service and being the recipient of his gratefulness

The “Right Choice” is different for each of us. The demands of our lives are as different as we are. One thing we have in common however is the fact that it sometimes takes more energy and sacrifice to make the “Right Choice”. Wisdom and experience tells me that, when we do spend that extra energy or choose to make that sacrifice in our life to make the “Right Choice” for us…………it will always deliver its REWARD

3 comments:

jessithompson said...

I love this post, Kathi, and applaud all of the right choices you've made that have rewarded you in your life as well as your family and friends.

Anonymous said...

I would say that God is working in your life and reassuring you that you are making the "right choices". Afterall, He did create a few sunrises just for you to reward you for your hard work. And those birds singing - yep, that was Him again letting you know that He appreciated your hard work and He sent the birds along to accompany you.

You are making some great choices and it shows! Keep up the hard work you hot chick!

Linda Seppa Salisbury said...

Kathi- I love this post! There is something sweet about making a sacrifice (right choice) and then realizing the learnings and goodness that follows. I love that you took time, changed your schedule,, and had time with Paisley! I love that you gave up your massage time for Kevin! :)
I love that you could re-frame an event and see the gifts in it for you! You ROCK!!! Love, Linda