Week 5 of 1/2 Marathon Training....A Bad Case of the "Toos."
Today I finished up my 5th week of 1/ 2 marathon training with an 8 mile run. Just as any runner knows, there are some days when you are just "too."....too tired, too lazy, too busy, too unmotivated, too, too, too, too. You fill in the blank. I was just "too ___________" this entire week, and it probably will fit my crappy attitude. There were days this week when I even thought that I must have been "too" overzealous to have chosen this goal to run a 1/2 marathon during the school year. Had I not known that my life was "too" hectic to take this on?
And then...my phone dinged with a text alert on Friday afternoon:
"Do you have a run to get in tomorrow?" ----From my friend, Greta.
This isn't just any friend. This is a friend who is well matched for me. She and I take turns pushing each other. She and I have a fairly well-matched pace. Greta has gotten me through training runs for 1/2 marathons, marathon relays, and both of my full marathons. I got Greta's text....and I immediately forgot all about all of my "toos." It is funny how a good running partner can snap you very quickly out of that negative "too" mindframe. One text from her...and I was back to believing in myself.
....Until that night. When I realized that I needed to set my alarm for 6:00 for a Saturday morning, I was "too" exhausted from my stressful week and thought that I deserved to wake up without an alarm one lousy day a week. It also was going to be "too" cold in stinking March! But....Greta would be waiting for me. And while I am sometimes willing to let myself down, I am "too" polite to do that to my best running partner. So I set my alarm, got up early the next morning...and Greta and I ran.
We started out in the dark, me sporting a hat with headlights on it. We ran through the beautiful sunset. We talked through all of our problems, points of happiness, family dramas, frustrations with kids, worries about the future, frustrations with work....you name it. We worked it out during our 8 miles. And when we finished our run....the world and everything in it looked brighter, happier, and much more manageable.
It wasn't "too" cold...it was refreshing. It wasn't "too" early...I got to see the sunset and I still had the whole day ahead of me. It wasn't "too" far...I had the time that I needed to spend with a great friend without the interruption of children.
Running does that. It helps you to get perspective. It helps you to feel like you can do anything. It helps you to remember that you can....that there is no such thing as "too" anything for you. If you can wake up on a Saturday morning at 6:00 am to run 8 miles with a terrific friend....there is little in life that you cannot do. You just have to take it one step at a time...one moment at a time...one run at a time. Let the people in your life in who can support you in whatever your health goals may be....shed those who feed your "toos." You are worth it.
And then...my phone dinged with a text alert on Friday afternoon:
"Do you have a run to get in tomorrow?" ----From my friend, Greta.
This isn't just any friend. This is a friend who is well matched for me. She and I take turns pushing each other. She and I have a fairly well-matched pace. Greta has gotten me through training runs for 1/2 marathons, marathon relays, and both of my full marathons. I got Greta's text....and I immediately forgot all about all of my "toos." It is funny how a good running partner can snap you very quickly out of that negative "too" mindframe. One text from her...and I was back to believing in myself.
....Until that night. When I realized that I needed to set my alarm for 6:00 for a Saturday morning, I was "too" exhausted from my stressful week and thought that I deserved to wake up without an alarm one lousy day a week. It also was going to be "too" cold in stinking March! But....Greta would be waiting for me. And while I am sometimes willing to let myself down, I am "too" polite to do that to my best running partner. So I set my alarm, got up early the next morning...and Greta and I ran.
We started out in the dark, me sporting a hat with headlights on it. We ran through the beautiful sunset. We talked through all of our problems, points of happiness, family dramas, frustrations with kids, worries about the future, frustrations with work....you name it. We worked it out during our 8 miles. And when we finished our run....the world and everything in it looked brighter, happier, and much more manageable.
It wasn't "too" cold...it was refreshing. It wasn't "too" early...I got to see the sunset and I still had the whole day ahead of me. It wasn't "too" far...I had the time that I needed to spend with a great friend without the interruption of children.
Running does that. It helps you to get perspective. It helps you to feel like you can do anything. It helps you to remember that you can....that there is no such thing as "too" anything for you. If you can wake up on a Saturday morning at 6:00 am to run 8 miles with a terrific friend....there is little in life that you cannot do. You just have to take it one step at a time...one moment at a time...one run at a time. Let the people in your life in who can support you in whatever your health goals may be....shed those who feed your "toos." You are worth it.
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