Day 30 - Do, or Do Not, there is no try!

There is nothing that I hate more than not doing something that I said I was going to do.  It really doesn't matter what the thing that I said I was going to do was,  If I said I was going to do it, then I should do it.   I'm am profoundly good at making excuses and I'm a damn good salesman too.  When you pair those together, I can sell myself any excuse like selling pork rinds to pigs.  Easy as Pie, as they say, but let me tell you right now;  It's not right!   I'm totally cheating myself, and that is assuming that I'm the only one whom I've made the promise to.

Last Sunday,  I ran my one mile.  I was proud of it, but come Monday morning I didn't wake up on time.  I didn't run in the morning and promised myself that I would run right when I got home.  I think you know where this is going.  I got home Monday night after sitting in traffic, and the excuses came flooding out of my mouth like water flowing from a river.   (whiney voice) I'm too tired,  I will run tomorrow,  I am still sick..  I was the pig, and I ate that pork rind right up and it was so good!

This morning, I tried to pull that same crap when I got up.   Today is Day 30, my half way mark.  I had to give myself a swift kick in the, pardon my french, ass.  I had to make a commitment, no more bologna!   It's like what Yoda says,  "Do, or Do Not,  there is no try".

Today's Goal.

Today I need to push myself.   I didn't run yesterday because I drank the coolaid, so today I need to work extra hard.  Today's goal is 1.6 miles and I better make it a solid run too.  This isn't punishment, this is what is needed because tomorrow I'm supposed to be running 2.8 so I can return to CrossFit.

I'm highly motivated, suited up, and ready to rock some enya.





Today's Progress.

Normally I do my stretches in my living room, but today I did them right in my driveway.  It's about 7:15 and the sun is up already.  Yeah, I'm running late, but it is such a beautiful morning out that soaking up the sun like Superman just felt like the right thing to do.  I hit the street running pretty hard,  It was almost too hard and I knew that I might have motivated myself a little too much.  So I had to slow it down just a tad so that I could get a nice rhythm down.

Running can be so euphoric.  But when I let it go, make excuses, and I miss days, it seems harder to get started.  That is when I have to reach deep in my gut and push through.  After getting half way down my street, I started to feel so much better.  My breathing was great and I could feel the fresh cold air piercing my lungs as if they were brand new.  I don't know about anyone else, but I generally hate the cold, except when I run.  When I run, I love the cold, and I love how fresh the morning feels on my face and body.   It's so refreshing.

By the time I go to the bridge,  I was a happy runner again.  I was all warmed up and highly motivated to complete my run.  Long gone are the days when I was struggling to do this run.  I hit Dulin Rd and headed back.

I'm not sure why the run back is such a pain in the butt all the time.  I use to think it was because I was completely exhausted,  but that is definitely not it.   Maybe it is because, I really don't want to stop running?  Maybe I'm Forest Gump and I just want to keep running from ocean to ocean?   I can't quite put my finger on what it is about the run back that is so bad, but every time I get about half way back down my street I feel like I'm running a little slower, or sometimes the street just seems extremely long.   Whatever it is,  it's always a struggle making that last .25 miles.   Today,  I felt like I cheated that somehow.  I recognized the feel, and Ignored it completely.  Instead of slowing down, I sped up.  When the road looked longer, I simply looked at my feet.   That seemed to help quite a bit and I was able to land on my driveway like a Football player making a touchdown. I made it today,  1.6 and it was an easy run.   I'm still not 100% over my cold, but I'm sure feeling a lot better.   Tomorrow's 2.8 is going to be rough, but I know I can do it.

Overall Progress.

So I've had quite a 30 days.  It definitely had it's up's and down's.  I pushed through lots of pain to get my body acclimated to running after 20 plus years of neglect.  I started CrossFit, man is that tough.  I also got my first running injury and learned some valuable lessons about resting.   I got sick and I bounced back.   The overall result, is that today I weighed in and I was 188.9 pounds!  13.1 pounds lost and this is the first time in 3 years that I have been under 190 pounds.   I'm super excited!  It just goes to show, that I can do anything if I put my mind, heart and soul into it.