Blisters and calluses

One thing I’ve noticed about walking for hours every day is the great physical fitness that seems to be building up fairly quickly. My body shape is starting to change as well, and I’m excited about fitting into some of my clothes that hadn’t fit before.

What I’m not enjoying though is all the blisters I’m getting on my feet. Not only are blisters painful, but they’ve started to turn into calluses, which are not real pretty! If you’ve got a weak stomach, then you should probably close your eyes now. But for those of you who have iron cast stomachs like me, here is a photo of one of my blisters-turned-callus!

Hehe, just joking! Do you think I’m stupid? I’m not about to show the world a callus on the bottom of my foot! You’d never think of me the same way again!! 🙂

Anyways, suffice to say I’ve got a bit of foot work to do, in more ways than one…thank God I’m a Beauty Therapist. Since I’m well trained in the magic and art of pedicures, I know my feet will be fine!

But all this pain of blisters and calluses got me thinking of the dangers of blisters on other parts of the body. That’s another good thing about walking for hours on end by the way – I get to think a lot, helping to build up my mind power.

As I walk I remember things that I’ve been through over the last couple of years. And as blisters on my feet turn to calluses, I thought to myself – if I let them, the blisters, or the hurts on my heart, could turn to calluses too, resulting in the hardening of my heart.

God made me a woman, and I believe women are meant to be gentle, soft and motherly. So for my heart to get all callused would go against my very nature. It wouldn’t match with who God made me to be. So along with the disciplining of my body, comes the disciplining of my mind – this is an essential part of my training. It’s okay for my mind to remember the hurts, but not so they become painful blisters and calluses that might stop me in my tracks. I need to turn it around and make sure the hurts power me on. The hurts can conjure up anger and fear, but they can also conjure up the passion of injustice, or the urgency to prove one’s worth. This is what can be beneficial – passion and urgency can become fuel for my training, fuel for my marathon.

Well, when you’re walking 12 kilometres, 5 days a week, like I am at the moment, you certainly wouldn’t be wanting to turn to cupcakes for fuel. I need to be staying focused on positive emotions, the right foods and the finish line in Paris if I want to be successful in my training regime.

So I’m hoping you won’t mind the lack of cupcakes in my posts for a little while. Don’t worry, cupcakes are definitely still on the agenda – what better way to celebrate than with cupcakes? And celebrate is what I plan to do at that finish line, which is just around the corner!

Jennifer xo