Make It Yours

It's not that it's been a bad Monday at all; it's that I got so much done and used my brain so much that I got the mid-afternoon sleepies ... zzzzz ...

But, here we are, still plugging along!! I hope your Monday has been a wonderfully productive one! And, if not productive, at least wonderful!

So, late Friday afternoon, I finally sat down to schedule my running through Spring (which is another way of saying 'finding out if I was already supposed to start training for April's Half ...). It turns out, I still have a couple of weeks before officially starting to train! That was great news on many fronts: It gives Mary Kate and I a few weeks to play with to find a good mutual date for our Frozen Booty virtual run; I didn't get behind on the training, and I can not be concerned with days like tomorrow when I didn't expect another negative wind chill prediction, but it's there anyway. (Looks like it's another day on the bike!) That was all good news! And, I finally finished the last of the 'put this on the 2015 calendar' items. Ta-Da!

So, the practicalities and the measureables are basically in place to get ready for April, but I spend ongoing time, training or not, to make sure my mental game is as sharp as it can be. And, by 'sharp,' I really mean 'inspired.' (I don't seem able to always have full control over my sharpness. That went away with the birth of each child ...) Anyway, my eyes and ears are perpetually wide open to hear, see and read anything from which I might glean inspiration or tweak something I've always done to do it better. Or, maybe I'll try something entirely new! I'm always ready. And, I totally believe there's always more good to be had out there!

Not good was a blog I came across in my search for inspiration with regard to running marathons. It was written by a runner who, basically, said she will not be training for a marathon any time soon because the sport has been negatively altered from competition to just completion. Oh, and she finds posts from those who just complete and talk about the wonderful things they see along the race route distasteful. So, she's just not going to participate.

Frankly, I find her negative judgment about anyone who is trying and putting themselves out there for any endeavor distasteful. I'm very impressed by anyone who can squash the big runs; I am not impressed when someone that able decides to look down on those who aren't. 'Seems a misuse of her own gift, but she didn't ask me.

Steve Harvey recently had an awesome motivational guest (Lisa Nichols) on his show who said, "My dream is not asking for your permission. My dream is going to give you notice it's about to occur."

Steve Harvey followed that with this: "You want to mess your day up? You tell your big dream to some small-minded people."

I couldn't help but think of those lines when I read that aforementioned blog. That blog doesn't even apply to me, and not in the I'm-not-running-a-marathon way. It doesn't apply in the, "I honestly don't get your function," way. Frankly, I was almost over the running snobbery before I ever took it on, so I'm way past this. But, I hate ... hate ... the thought of someone newer to the game reading it and wondering if they're doing something wrong because that question is an utter waste of time.

So, while she sits on the sidelines proving I-don't-know-what point, I will soon join thousands of others getting ready for a big run in the Spring! Let's be safe, let's be smart, and let's get on with this in our own way in our own time. Make it yours -- whatever it is for you -- and I'll see you after some morning cycling!