Commit Ahead Of Time

This is just a reminder: Always make and commit to your morning running or exercise plans before the morning you're supposed to do them! That way, when you're all kinds of cozy and not wanting to get out of bed, you're not deciding what to do. That's the kind of decision making where exercise will lose every time!

By today's lesson, you can gather I really didn't want to get up and go! But, once I pulled myself out of bed, I repeated to myself, "It's not about right now; it's about how I'll feel after." That totally helped. I also had a great idea that Aaron could join me. I promised I'd go the pace to accommodate his knee capades. It turned out he thought my idea was a really bad one. Oh, and check this out -- then he stayed in bed! Drat! Oh well. Once I was dressed and ready to go, I felt, well, all ready!

The morning did not come without disappointment for someone, though:

Daphne watched as Elly gave me the hopeful eyes.

Turning away from the sad beast, I headed on out. It was 29 degrees, but it didn't seem that cold when I first stepped out of the house. Then, I turned the corner. And, so did the weather:

Where did that cold wind come from? It
wasn't here just a minute ago! Stop it!!

I do like the cold, but I do not like cold wind. A few tenths of a mile later, I turned the corner again. And, so did the weather. Again. In fact, I felt little-to-no breeze at this point which made me very warm. I quickly realized it was going to be one of those runs ...!

I needed to quit thinking about being cold-being-hot-getting-slapped-with-wind and just settle in to the run come what may. I had six miles to go and really didn't need to be focused on the weather! So, I trotted along soon to see a man running alongside of me, and then he was in front of me. And, he kept going. Can you see him?

He's wayyyy up there and about to be even farther! Go dude go!

His pace was assuredly faster than mine, and I couldn't help but think back to when that would have bugged the crap out of me. There was certainly a day when someone passing me made me feel inadequate. And, when I couldn't keep up that person's pace, I spent much too long berating myself. Anymore? They can keep on going while I do my thing! I highly suggest that attitude, too; it makes your activity so much more fun!

With the speedy running man out of sight, I approached the one part of my run to which I was not looking forward. It was the biggest hill, and it tends to annoy me. Some big hills make me feel great, and others -- like, this one -- are just a challenge. At the bottom, I simply told myself not to complain and just get it finished. At the top, I did a mini celebration:

Yeahhhhh, I did it! Thumbs up seven up,
people! (remember that game?!)

That smile didn't last long as I rounded the corner and got whacked with cold, sharp wind again!

Seriously! Nothing like a wind slap!

By this time, I was almost half-way through the run. I always like getting three behind me. I'm all warmed up and feel totally committed to the moment. I know, you'd think I'd be there before this point. But, I'm not. Three feels like I can just go get it done. Beyond that, it's more of a commitment! Anyway, this point of the run also presented me with an incline that I feel I've conquered. Further, it presented me with prizes:

Never. Gets. Old.

As I went on, happy to have more miles behind me than ahead, I started noticing a number of runners. I usually tend to see a few, but they just kept coming. No one had a number bib, so I'm pretty certain I was seeing pieces of running groups. Many groups have cropped up recently with Half Marathon opportunities just around the corner, so I'm guessing that's who a lot of these people were. In all, from beginning to end of my run, I counted 40 runners (including myself) plus two people walking their dogs (don't tell Elly). But, did any of those 39 runners find this?

Of course they didn't ... I did! And, that's a dime! Booyah !!

I passed the last of the assumed running groups coming toward me in my last mile which, for me, was mostly down hill. (That was great planning!) Unfortunately for them, that meant their stretch was up hill. I felt for the last trio. That hill was too much (which it has been for me as well), and I passed them while one woman had her hands on her head, another was crouched down resting and another was all kinds of pink in the face. I wanted to hug them but questioned their receptiveness. So, I waved and just kept going while I reflected on how many times that same spot brought my pace to a halt.

Before I knew it, I was rounding the corner to my finish. And, as promised to myself, I felt great there at the end! Also great? My Pit Crew pal provided me with a favorite post-run beverage:

Ice cold from our favorite Diet Coke
fountain. Mmm ... mmm ... mmm ...

It's worth getting up early. It's worth the weather no matter what that is (um, except rain ... hate the rain ...). It's worth the work. The end is a big reward!

Congratulate your own efforts, and I'll see you from Rest Day tomorrow!