Friday, August 15, 2008

Remind me why I'm doing this....

As my calves were screaming, my glutes were aching and I felt like I might just keel over and die at any moment yesterday, I began asking myself why I was doing this. Even through the pain, it didn't take long for the answer to come. I'm doing this for ME! Yes, there are other people who play a role in my training and my ultimate success (namely, my wonderful running group) but when it comes down to it, this will be all ME. I have to have the will to get up at 7 in the morning when I could be sleeping in, the will to not just go home and sit on the couch after a long day of work. I have the will to put on my running clothes and lace up my running shoes and get out there and do it, regardless of if I feel like it or not. I was looking up running quotes the other day and came across the following quote:

"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired...You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going." - George S. Patton, U.S. Army General and 1912 Olympian

There have been many times where my body wants to give up but it is MY mind that keeps me going. My mind wants to accomplish this goal and it is going to make my body go along even if it doesn't agree! So the next time my body asks my mind why is it doing this and what did it do to deserve this cruel torture, my mind is just going to tell my body to "shut up and keep running".

On a side note: despite the obvious differences, Amy and I have decided that we were indeed separated at birth.

1 comment:

runrgrl2007 said...

I have no idea what differences your talking about? We look like twins... Well our hair anyway! Great post!