Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Everything Counts.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Little things make a difference and every bit helps.

Case in point, me.

Today at noon, I have four out-of-state visitors arriving for a Marine Corps Boot Camp Graduation ceremony. They will be staying at Casa John and Ric through the weekend. Since Ric and I have been entertaining or otherwise busy for weeks, the house still needed to be cleaned from top to bottom. So we did that last night and finally finished at nearly midnight.

As I was cleaning the bedroom and putting away laundry, I decided to pack up my gym bag with today's work clothes. I also laid out my running gear, iPod, and water bottle. I was ready.

This morning, though, when the alarm went off at 6am, I was not ready. I was still exhausted and did not want to get out of bed at all. I definitely didn't want to go running. So, I made myself a deal. I still had to get out of bed, but I would finish cleaning my desk instead of going to the gym.

As I finished cleaning, though, I realized that my work clothes were packed in my gym bag already. That means, in order to put them on, I would have to open my bag and drag everything out. Ignoring the bag was one thing, but unpacking it was admitting defeat. I decided to go to the gym.

But, again, life interfered. I still needed to wash my car and fill it up with gas before my guests could borrow it, and it was already after 7am. What to do, what to do? Simple. I hopped in the car, drove through a quickie car wash, filled the tank up, and sped off to the gym. I wouldn't have time to run a full 5k, but I thought I could still get a couple of miles in.

And that's the whole point of this blog. Do what you can, when you can, and trust that everything counts on your way to health and fitness.

For me, knowing I only had time for two miles motivated me to run faster than I normally would. I managed to knock out two sub-nine minute miles, and that's a speed record for me. I'm normally a 10-minute miler over any distance, so two 8:52 min miles feel great.

I realize as I write this that I am speaking to three very different audiences. People faster than I am think my pace is very slow, people much slower than I am dream of running as fast as I do, and people that share my pace understand the difference in running more than a minute faster each mile.

Ultimately, though, it isn't about what other people think of my pace. It's about me honoring the commitment I made to myself to be active and make healthy decisions. And today, that meant adjusting a bit for life's demands while still taking care of myself.

Everything counts, indeed. Because I ran, I feel great this morning and am already making healthy eating choices. Instead of tossing the whole day away ("missed my run, might as well splurge today and get back on track tomorrow!"), the two miles will also help motivate me to eat well all day... and to get back out there tomorrow.

Oh, and to answer the question on everyone's mind, yes, I am having great post-workout hair today!


Have a great day, friends!


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