May I say right up front that I am so very grateful to Heavenly Father for His tender mercies to me? I will tell you about that in a little bit.
A year has gone by since the last time I walked a 5K to help support research on Rett Syndrome. It gives me pleasure to make this walk. It does just about finish me off but at least if I fall short, I am close to home. I have just learned how to use Walkie-Talkie on my watch so theoretically I could call home for reinforcements if necessary.
A few weeks ago I took several walks around the streets of the complex and kept track of the mileage so I would be sure to get the full 5K in. My tee shirt came on Wednesday so, since Saturday was looking like a nice day, I planned to go then.
Dear One was kind enough to take a Before picture of me: (this was just in case of incident, he could prove to anyone who asked that I went out happy doing something I really wanted to do...)
You can even see Dear One in this picture! At least his shadow...! You will notice we were careful not have the picture shooting into the garage...that was on purpose! Sometime it will be more orderly. At least I hope to get the last of "my" buckets emptied and put into place.
So, off I went. As is. I was about one-quarter mile away from our house and facing into the sun when I realized I was not wearing my hat. Rats! I did not go back to get it. (I was afraid I might not start out again...so I kept going.) Not a really good idea but there you have it.
After walking almost two miles I had a little episode of chest discomfort. This made me nervous because I was determined to finish the 5K. This is where the tender mercies come in. A little thought crossed my mind and I followed the prompting. Within another quarter mile there was no more discomfort or worry!
What did I do, you ask? Well, over the last two days I had switched from watching/listening to whole plant food YouTube videos to Breathing videos. In several of these we are told that nose breathing is the way to breathe, not mouth breathing. Because of the effort I was taking to do the walk, I had turned to mouth breathing...SO I stopped and began nose breathing, and really concentrating on it. It really worked. I began getting more oxygen into my lungs and more something into my heart(maybe red blood cells...?). Anyway, the pain went away and I finished the 5K.
Of course, by the time I was done my pace had dropped 2 minutes a mile. The whole thing took me an hour and a half. But I finished.
I am thinking there is something to this. At least it helped me in a moment of need. The tender mercies were that 1.) I was prompted to listen to these videos in the first place while I was spinning yarn on the front porch and 2.) I remembered what I had heard when I needed to know. Thanks, Heavenly Father.
Pattie! This brings such a smile to my face. I miss interacting with you on a regular basis and feel so blessed to have been able to do just that while our family lived in New Hampshire. You are wonderful! Thank you so much!!
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