Waking Up

Motivational author, Mark Victor Hansen wrote:

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

There were so many reason to not get out of bed this morning. I was sleepy. I was warm and cozy. My wife didn’t appear to want to get out of bed either. It was dark. The gym didn’t sound appealing. A late morning trip to the beach just in time for lunch and margaritas sounded very appealing. My legs were sore from yesterday’s workout.

So many reasons, but I got up anyway. It was a sturggle, certainly and I wasn’t exactly at the gym as early as normal. I did make it, and I got on that treadmill and I walked my 1 mile warmup and I found a little crack in the curb of the parking lot out the window and I let my mind wonder and I ran 4 miles without really even knowing it.

Planned workout

1 mile warmup

4 miles at 9:32 pace

1 mile cool down

Actual workout

1 mile warmup

4 miles at 9:32 pace

1 mile cool down

My treadmill strategy lately has been to find a fixed point in the distance and stare at it. This keeps me from constantly glancing back at the console to see if I have, indeed traveled another hundredth of a mile. I allow myself to check my progress only between songs on my mp3 player. This way, I see my progress in roughly half mile chunks and that helps with the drudgery of the treadmill. I really “got into the zone” today and felt great. The top of my left foot did start to get sore at about 1.5 miles. It grew a little worse over time, but really not so bad. I don’t believe it altered my running form at all.

Anyway, in reference to what Hansen wrote, one mantra I have in my head when I’m having a tough day is that every step I take makes my next workout that much easier. It’s particularly effective during long runs.