Thoughts on the Run

On my 7 mile treadmill run this morning, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I did the usual get excited because I get to run this morning pep talk on my drive to the gym. As I walked from my car to the gym entrance I reveled a little in the fact that I was up before most of the city. It’s like being in on a secret that nobody else knows. Being awake and outside at 5am when others, and probably you reading this, would roll their eyes and make one of the following comments:
– I’m just going to bed at that time!
– Yeah you enjoy all that morning darkness
– I have no desire to start the day that early

Here’s what I know … we all have a set amount of time on this Earth.

My plan is to squeeze as much excitement and experiences out of it that I can.

Yes, people call me crazy for getting up before the sun, for running the Leadville 100 (or even the 50), and for having 4 kids. Again, it’s a secret they don’t know about. You can’t live if you are not living.

If all you do is wake up when the sun comes up, go to work, come home, watch tv or have some drinks, then go to bed … that is not living to me. Pick one day or even one evening and do something different. In fact, don’t even plan for what you will do until the moment arrives. It’s like shopping for groceries for the week. We do it because of convenience, but I have no real idea what I will be hungry for 6 days from now.

The past 2 weeks have been a bit frustrating for me. I thought it was that my priorities were getting mixed up and that I was losing focus. Come to find out I was just ignoring the signs slapping me in the face that I was sick. Of course, I continued on and still completed a half marathon, but was frustrated as hell.

We all feel frustration at some point in our lives and even everyday. Accept it. It is part of what makes us human. The real question is what will you do next? Will you let it drag you down and take down all of your relationships and work with it? Or do you learn from it and push forward.

Everyone needs a moment. It is fine to take that moment. And just for the record, you do not need to announce to the world that you need said moment. I have these moments multiple times throughout the day. Nobody knows about them. It can be as simple as counting to 10, asking yourself if you will remember this frustration in a week, or are you solving world hunger.

I have been very fortunate to receive support from people I haven’t talked to in awhile (and didn’t realize were reading my blog) to family to complete strangers. People sending quotes and stories relating to my situation. Always nice to remember that in a world of 7 billion people, there is probably someone out there going through the same thing. It is also important to remember, there are billions with problems much worse then what I consider a “problem.”

Understand why you are frustrated, but don’t spend a lot of energy on it. Use that energy to move forward and smile a little more.