It’s Just Wednesday Right?
Today was so tough. How many miles did I run, you ask? 9, 10, 11…nope. Just 3. It took everything I had to get those in, and it is because I broke all of my running rules.
1. Always do your morning run, even when you don’t want to.
Fail on that for today. I was mentally and physically exhausted, and it was so easy to roll over, hit snooze, and pledge to run in the evening. I only had to get in a minimum of 3 miles today. No problem, right? I mean it’s only an hour and 20 minutes.
2. If you need to run in the evening, go as soon as possible after work.
Again, a fail on my part. After getting engulfed in “just one more thing” syndrome, it was 7:15 pm before my shoes touched the treadmill.
3. Do not take phone calls during your run. It messes with your mojo.
I got a professional call that I needed to take, so I took it. Knowing full well the impact on my rhythm.
4. Do not interrupt your run to do something else. It becomes hard, if not impossible, to finish.
#Fail…are you sensing the pattern.
Based on the call, I departed one mile into my run to return to my desk to handle something requiring my attention.
At this point, I am just angry at myself for not being done yet. One thing I am learning is the importance of putting myself first in this process. I am the one who needs to put in the work to run this marathon, and if I do not, it will show in my performance on race day and that will be on me. No one else besides me is accountable for my training and the degree to which I am prepared when I show up at the start line. Furthermore, when I am running the marathon, quitting will not be an option. Quitting has never been an option in any aspect of my life, and I do not intend to start now, especially when pursuing one of the biggest goals in my life to date. I want to accomplish this goal, and I am willing to do whatever it takes.
It is with those sentiments in mind that sometime around 9:30 pm or so, I returned to the gym, tired, frustrated, and ready to be done. Those were two of the longest miles I have ever run, especially when my right foot “spazzed out” in a way it never had before, causing me to have to slow down for about 20 minutes and prolonging the agony.
The bottom line is I finished. I stuck it out, when I did not want to and when there were plenty of entirely legitimate reasons for me to throw in the towel. I kept going, and I love that about myself.
Looking at the day as whole, I got my run in and I stuck to my nutrition plan, so today is a win. Even as I type this blog, a new friend from my apartment complex messaged me to tell me she registered for the race I am running on Sunday after I encouraged her to join. That really made my day. I am going to take the win for today and call it a night because there are many more miles to run tomorrow.
