Nine Lives

It's inevitable. If the GF gets sick, then I get sick. Guess what folks? She's sick! And I'm feeling a bit itchy in the back of the throat. The masters all say it's okay to take a break from running while your body needs to heal and rid of the sickness, but what if I don't want to? This morning at work I was so tired and I could feel that tiny scratchiness in the back of my froat (throat with a frog in it). I was weighing the options of going out to lunch or going to the gym for lunch. If I went to the gym, I could go straight home to my sick GF after work, but if I went to eat, then I'd have to go to the gym after work and delay my presence at home, risking being even more tired than I already was. So...I went to the gym! And once I got on the treadmill, I felt better while I was running than I had all morning! Some of you are thinking "She's insane!" I understand why you'd think that, so I'm gonna help you change that mindset.

If you think running is the most dreadful thing in the world and you'd rather do anything but run, I suggest you do just that...don't waste your time on the treadmill or out on the trails, go bike riding, or swimming, or whatever makes you happy. If you don't like running because you are out of shape and it hurts then you just have an endurance problem. You need to gradually lose the weight and pick up the intensity. It's not gonna come overnight, nor is it gonna come in a month. But I can guarantee that if you push yourself everyday for a month, you'll be alot further along than where you were on day 1. It's not supposed to be easy, it's supposed to be challenging. That's why it's so rewarding after you finish your run, because you made it!

I've mentioned before that I'm running this race with a co-worker, and by "with" I mean she is also in the race. I definitely don't mean we will be running alongside each other during the race because she is faster than I am. The first half-marathon I ever ran was with her and we ran together for the first 9 miles. She talked to me the whole way and I could barely utter a word. At mile 9, I finally told her to GO! I was holding her back and I could quite possibly slow down even more, so I told her to GO! She finished the race 10 minutes before I did. I'm just trying to show that there will always be someone faster and with more endurance than you. Don't worry about them, worry about yourself, push yourself, run for yourself. The rewards will come and you'll be glad you stuck with it!

~Chix