Thursday, January 12, 2012

Running On Empty

Step one today was difficult. Mile 2 a little harder. Miles 3-7 were downright sluggish at best. Yes, I have run 2 marathons, countless other races, and many many miles further than a 7 miler, but today's run felt as if someone had poured concrete in the veins of my legs. Every step weighed 1,000 pounds. As if the weight of my legs wasn't enough, it began to rain at mile 6 and the wind was blowing as if I was about to be lifted into the sky to land in Oz. I wanted to quit. I thought about taking a short cut back to the car more than once. I didn't though. Something just wouldn't let me. That inner runner voice kept chanting to me, "Press On." "Push!" I was literally running on empty, but I kept going. The peanut butter and jelly from lunch and had long been gone and my energy was depleting with every step. After an eternal 56 minutes, I accumulated the 7 miles needed for my training today. It sure wasn't easy, but as I sat down after I finished, the reward was the greatest feeling of satisfaction and pride. Satisfaction that I met my goal for the day, and pride in myself for not quitting in the face of adversity. I may have been running on Empty, but I finished full!

Whatever you did today, or whatever you doing tomorrow... Don't give up, don't quit... The reward at the end is worth the pain. You will finish full!

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