I get asked regularly by my friends, family, and co-workers, “You’re not running in this, are you?”. Over the years, I have been asked this question hundreds of times by various people. They ask it for a good reason:
-In the middle of December, there are less than 9 hours of daylight in the day [8+ of those hours are spent at work. 1+ of those hours are spent commuting.]
-Our average temperature from December-February is in the single digits F. It’s considered a “mild” winter if we “only” get below zero a dozen times.
– The roads are covered in ice.
My answer to these people is usually along the lines of , “unfortuntely, yes” or “usually inside, but yes”. However, I always get the same look of horror. It’s almost as if someone cannot possibly imagine running in these conditions. The fact is, YES. EVERY SINGLE winter, I run. I run when schools get cancelled for blizzards. I run when it’s so cold out, they advise you not to leave your homes. I run when the roads are in non-drivable conditions. I run in the rain. I run in the sleet. I run in the heat. I run when I’m sad. Heck, I’ve cried DURING my runs on multiple occasions. Bottom line, I run when I don’t want to.
Why would anyone do that? The same reason why people get up and go to work EVERY morning. It’s part of my life. It’s who I am. It’s something I value. Most people won’t “understand” this. They roll their eyes. They poke fun at me.They will assume that my life has always been this way. They will assume I am wildly different from them. They assume I am this perfect, fit little robot machine. However, the only difference I see are how I allow EXCUSES to influence me.
I’ve lived a life where excuses controlled my actions. I was a quitter. I was a victim of the world around me. That is not living. That is existing.
Why have I been running for 181 days straight averaging over 9 miles a day? The answer is simple. I WILL NOT fall victim to excuses. Goals will ONLY be met if we ignore those voices that tell us to “stop”, “give up”, “it’s too hard”. After running 22 miles on the treadmill the past 2 days, i’ve been battling these little devils inside my head. I know fighting through them will only make me stronger.
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