One of Those Days
I love to run. Really, I do. But there are somedays where I just wake up and don’t want to get out of bed. Today was one of those days. I woke up, rolled over, shut off the alarm and just lay there dreading the four mile run I had ahead of me. I just wanted to stay in my warm and comfortable bed.
Then I get on to my computer to check the weather and I saw that it was 30 degrees with a wind chill that felt like 20. I said some obscenities underneath my breath, but I forced myself up. I knew that if I wanted to successfully finish the marathon, I had to run. No excuses.
After I was ready, I got myself outside and began to run. For the entire first mile, I was in a horrible mood. I just did not want to be outside. I said to myself, “Why am I awake on a Sunday morning, when I could be sleeping in a warm bed?”
I finished the first mile and then I turned a corner to find an icy wind blowing in my face. Now, I was really upset. I was cursing— sometimes under my breath and sometimes out loud. I’m positive that I scared several passers-by. But I kept running.
As I reached the third mile, I caught my reflection in the glass window of some shops. I realized that I was running pretty fast, but I was also going at a comfortable pace. I thought back to the beginning of my training. Four miles used to be a pretty long run for me. Now, it’s my shortest run of the week. Soon, I won’t even be running anything less than five.
I’m not sure exactly what happened, but something clicked in my head right then. Maybe it was the realization that I was in some of the best shape of my life. Maybe it was the realization that the faster I ran, the sooner I would be back inside and out of the wind. Whatever it was, I ran the next two miles like a madman. I was so impressed with myself, that by the end of the run my mood had completely changed. I went from being angry at the world to being ecstatic.
It’s funny how that works. That situation has happened several times before, but I don’t learn. Sometimes I wake up dreading the miles ahead of me, even though I know that the run will completely change the way I feel. I shouldn’t be surprised by it anymore when it happens, but I am. Every time. And I am sure, even though I have written about it here, that it will happen again soon.
~Sean
