Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Beginning of Homework

During orientation we were told that outside of the three mandatory morning training session, we should add another day on our own and make sure we are getting at least one day of rest (no arguments here!). For my first week, I was more concerned with surviving and didn’t really give the whole “pick-up” day much thought. Turns out that that weekend my sister was in town and we ended up doing some ice-skating at the Sculpture Garden and for a first week, I thought that should count.

For the second week, I decided I should take the homework a bit more seriously. I figured, out of the three sports, running is where I would reap the most benefit spending more time. Decision: Saturday I was going to go for a run. Then Saturday came… and I felt awful. I mean truly gross. I had been having issues getting a full nights sleep all week, I was physically and mentally exhausted, suffering some severe sinus pressure from this horrendous season they call winter that wouldn’t just roll over and die already… not good. But, I didn’t want to fall any further behind in my running group then I already felt I was. I had to run. So I made a deal… I’d run, but not the 4 miles I was planning on suffering through originally. Ok, that’s a good compromise. If anything it will teach me that no matter what I should always push through… blah blah blah (insert moral clarity here).

So I ran. I put on what I refer too as my “running uniform” and headed out. First, it was so nice to run in the afternoon for the first time in forever. The sun was out, I wasn’t yawning, the city was buzzing... everything seemed a bit easier than the harsh morning runs. Secondly, I got to listen to my awesome work out mix. One of the “rules” for the Y group runs is no i-pods, which I have to say, makes pushing yourself further much more difficult. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the safety issues and that if a coach is trying to communicate, they need to know you’re listening. I get it, but that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t suck. I also veered away from the usual route. Discovering a new path and exploring parts of the neighborhood I have never been to kept me so mentally entertained that it distracted me from feeling like the walking dead. By the end of the run I had covered almost 3 miles. Sure, it wasn’t my original goal, but a thought hit me: the last time I ran here, outside in my neighborhood, was late fall when it was finally getting too cold, and at that time I was struggling to reach 2 miles. So yea, I might not have done the 4 I wanted to, but I ran 3 miles while feeling like hell, with a certain amount of ease. Hell, I even incorporated a hill I had been avoiding like the plague.

I realized that it is important to keep your goals and accomplishments in perspective, and not be afraid to pat yourself on the back for the small wins along with the big.

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