I've been typing on and off about the training Kelly and I have been doing for the marathon we will run in January 2009. Some of the training days are really long and boring. There are plenty of mornings when we wake up and say "I don't want to run today!"
Then we have to look at our goals and think about the tough things we have to do to reach our goal.
There are times in our life when we have a goal, but we quit. We quit because we have to do something we don't like to reach our goal. That's when you have to ask, how important is your goal? Are you willing to do anything to reach your goal? Are you to stubborn to reach your goal. We are all stubborn! The question is, will you let that stubbornness get in the way of something that is really important to you.
My stubbornness with running is that I like to run outside. So, for last few weeks, I've been forcing myself to wake up really early to run outside. It's still a little HOT here in Arizona (100-110 degrees). That makes it a little hard to run during the day. 5 AM runs were starting to become normal. Last week I woke up at 4AM. Why because I was too stubborn to go to the gym and run on the treadmill. Then I watched Kelly go into the gym day after day to do her runs on the treadmill. She dislikes treadmills too, but it's also too hot to run for 2-3 hours outside. I figured if she could do it, so can I.
Saturday, I slept in until 7AM and headed to the gym with Kelly. It was me versus the treadmill. 2+ hours of running in the same place. 2+ hours of watching "Headline News" over and over again on the TV at the gym. I didn't let all the negative thoughts hold me back. Watching my girlfriend run next to me helped inspire me. No complaints, just doing what she has to do to meet her goal. 15+ miles later we were done. I actually ran further than I expected/planned. I still hate the treadmill, but I'm happy because I did what was needed to meet my ultimate goal. 57% of the way to my goal!
Special Note- I'm loving the Olympics. Political Issues aside, I'm enjoying watching people having pride in themselves and their country. I love the stories of people chasing a dream/ a goal. The especially enjoyed the story of the South Korean swimmer who won the gold medal today. He was 14 years old and competing in his first olympics in 2004 in Athens. He was one of the favorites to win a medal. He was so nervous he fell into the pool before the race started and was disqualified. He never got a chance to race. He spent the next 4 years training even harder. This morning he won the gold medal in the race. The first ever medal in swimming for South Korea.
