Man, I did not want to get up this morning. I stayed up a bit later than I had wanted watching the Women’s Beach Volleyball Gold Medal match. (USA! USA!) When the alarm went off at 5:15AM, I squinted through bleary eyes and thought to myself, “You have got to be kidding me.”
Just a few hours prior, I had been looking forward to waking up. After watching Misty and Kerri dominate, I was thinking ahead to a brisk 5-mile before breakfast. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when I was staring down the barrel of a snooze button it seemed like a bigger challenge than a 6′ 3″ Chinese shot blocker.
A bit of backstory seems in order. I’m not a great runner. I don’t enjoy running so much as I enjoy having ran. Even so, one of my life goals is to complete a marathon some day. Last weekend, I completed the 7-mile Falmouth Road Race. I figured I’d build on that momentum by incorporating some longer runs into my weekly routine.
Therein lies the rub down. In the future, I want to complete a 26.2-mile run. Up to now, I’ve been running 3 miles or so a few days a week. I’m no Steve Prefontaine, but even I know that won’t be enough to reach my goal.
That realization forced me to drag my ample, sorry butt out of bed. If I’m going to become a Marathon Man, I’m going to have to do the distance. Needing one last bit of motivation, I thought to myself, “What would Kerri Walsh do?” (Other than be, like, totally awesome.) I pulled on my bikini top and bottom, laced up my shoes, and stumbled toward the door.
I’m happy to report that once my legs got moving, my heart got pumping, and I thoroughly enjoyed the morning run.
This experience taught me two important lessons:
- If the goal looms large enough, the small sacrifices along the way seem small by comparison.
- USA! USA!
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“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift.”
- Steve Prefontaine
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KAED
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