Readjusting My Goals

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Almost ten weeks ago I set a goal for myself to complete the Couch to 5K program and to run in a 5K this coming Sunday.  I started out as a non-runner.  I huffed and puffed my way through just the little amount of running I did in week one.  Week four left me wondering if I was really going to be able to finish this thing after all.  Week five was the turning point where running became a little bit easier.  By week eight, I was ready for the race.  Bring it on!

And then on Friday a cough set in.  I had a women's conference to go to last weekend.  I considered staying home, but I had a workshop to give and didn't think my sister-in-law would appreciate my skipping out and leaving her to give the workshop all on her own.  So I went.  I had a great time, but I spent the weekend coughing and didn't get enough sleep.  

Monday morning the cough hit full force and moved down into my lungs.  Climbing the stairs is enough to set me off coughing and leave me winded.  It's now Wednesday and the cough isn't getting any better.  

Last night I thought I'd test out my running abilities with a very short jog home from visiting my Grandma's house five houses down from my own.  I wanted to see just how bad my lungs truly were thinking that maybe I could run through the coughing.  I was coughing and wheezing before I made it to my driveway.  

After all that training, all that effort, I am faced with the very real possibility that I am not going to be able to accomplish my goal of running in the 5K this weekend.  

I was lamenting to my friend about it last night while we watched our boys play their soccer games.  She jokingly said I should hold my own "make-up" race once I'm better and able to run again.  I laughed about it at the time, but the idea grabbed hold.  

I may not be able to run by this Sunday, but that doesn't mean I won't ever be able to run again.  It doesn't mean I should just give up on my goal completely because I've hit a temporary setback.  I can readjust it.  If Sunday morning finds me still coughing and out of breath, I will simply wait until I'm better and then I will hold my own 5K.  There may not be 400 other fellow racers running with me, there may not be a cheering crowd when I cross the finish line, and I may not even know my "official" race time, but I can complete my goal and cheer all by myself.   

My adventure into running might not end up looking like I thought it would when I began, but I learned a lot along the way about setting a goal and not giving up even when it hurt, got hard, or when I experienced a set back.  But like almost everything else in my life, when shooting at a target, sometimes you have to lean left, sometimes right, and sometimes you have to spin around in circles before hitting your mark.   Just so long as you eventually hit the mark.