Thursday, October 18, 2007

Tough it out

We all look at moments of major effort as achievements and milestones. You remember your longest run, your PR races, your injuries that you recovered from.

The truth is, fitness is built on much less grandiose moments.

Yesterday's run was a simple half-hour treadmill workout. I was tired, because I hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before. I was in a bad mood, after a stressful day at work and at home.

Honestly? That run sucked. I hated it. It never felt easy. I was uncomfortable, my ipod kept playing songs I wasn't in the mood to hear, and I couldn't find anything I wanted to watch on the TV. It was an unhappy run, but it wasn't even an unusual run. I just felt like shit, and the run did nothing to improve how I felt physically or mentally. I finished it just as drained as when I went into it. I didn't feel proud or anything, I just felt tired and sweaty.

But I did it.

It's not a glorious moment. It's not a tale of success that you can't wait to share with others. It's just the ugly truth -- sometimes it sucks, and you do it anyway, and that's how you earn the right to enjoy those other moments.

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