This I Promise

If there is one thing I want to pass along above any other I've ever said, it is this: IT GETS BETTER. That's a promise. The proof for me was in this morning's pudding ...

Everything today was working against me. Up too late last night. Up way to early this morning. Restless sleep in between. Mind racing. Schedule full. Attitude in need of adjustment. As I got out of bed, I even pictured myself doing only what had to be taken care of and crawling back into bed. Sounded fabulous! But, that's not really the vision of success, now, is it? I mean, you know how you're always told to picture yourself achieving whatever goal you've set? Well, today, my picture and my goal did not match at all. *SIGH*

I have learned a number of things over the course of my life, though. One of those things is that the hard stuff is often quite temporary. Another is that it is crazy-easy to let the hard stuff permeate-therefore-ruin everything in its path (oh-my-gosh so not worth doing that to yourself!). And, I am no fan of letting the hard stuff win. That's just not what I'm made of. So, I. Laced. Up. I didn't say I was happy about it, I just said I did it ...

The bonus of getting up earlier than usual is that I knew I had a little more time to work with on my run. That meant I could just cruise along without any real time constraint. That's ideal!

What's also ideal is that I found a wee treasure:

It's been a while! Well, it's been about a week, but that's a long
time without snagging one of these, and we have a gap to close!

And, check this out ... I have no idea what kind of tree this is or what happens to these things after Spring, but they're really cool!

Those whatever-they-ares look so cool backlit!

Here they are in the light ... not as cool, but what a great
effect they make in different sun angles! 

Along another part of today's route, I found what would be the perfect thinking tree if it were in my yard!

That "y" is only about 4 1/2 feet up.
Totally accessible for climing!

And, there's the perfect sitting spot for all
of the thinking that could be done there!

I think there would be a moment where I used my thinking spot to ponder why these are still here:

I loved seeing these. They just made me smile. And, I was SO
tempted to give 'em a shake and see if anything was inside!

Right after passing the eggs, I had about another mile to go on a 5-mile run. It was here I realized, "Hey ... I'm really not tired. At all." Mentally, I was whipped for sure, but, physically, I was trucking right along. This is kind of new ... and, cool ...

Lately, I've noticed I've been able to sustain longer miles more often (including keeping the weekend miles longer). These miles are finally becoming much more a matter of course instead of grand efforts. Finally. Yes, resistance training is helping, there is no doubt about that. But, the credit goes more to a promise I made to myself almost four years ago -- the promise to put in the work when I said I would so I could reach the goals I wanted to reach. Whenever that was didn't matter. I just needed to keep on going.

Thumbs up to success!

Persistance paid off in a different way today ... This weekend, I went to get another pair of my lightening-titanium-periwinkle shoes, but they were out of my size. This kind of moment is enough to strike fear into my heart because I simply hate trying to get a new pair of shoes and then rolling the dice as to whether or not they're going to work out! I was chill this weekend, though (resigning myself that a different model might be required -- ugh), knowing I had time to check back and see if a pair would come in. You've already guessed the end of the story:

I put them on the counter to pay and said to the cashier, "I am
so ... very ... happy ..." You know, I think she understood!

Stick with whatever it is you are doing, and I promise you: It Gets Better. See you after the morning run!