Well I finally went for a run today. I had been over a week since my last run (see "Fall Dinners Lutheran Style in NW MN" blog for why I had to run that day). It seemed that once the third day passed, I just felt more and more guilty about it--to the point where I just plain didn't go. I thought about going earlier, but it was just to easy to skip it since it had already been so long. Then of course I would just feel more guilty about it.
But today was different. It may have taken me 6 hours to actually get my butt out the door, but I did it. However, even when I was running I still felt guilty for not running earlier. I kept thinking about whether or not my run was harder for waiting over a week. I thought about the fact that my route "up north" is shorter than my route down here and started feeling guilty about not mapping a longer route up there. But about a mile into my run I came upon this yard that had beautiful flowers still growing for this late in the fall and right in front of them was a sign that simply said "celebrate". One word but it made a difference in my run.
I decided to stop the guilt--afterall, I was out there. I was running. And I should celebrate the fact I was back doing so. It's kind of like what the researchers say happens to some people when they diet. Often times people will "fall off the wagon" and consume more calories than they intend. But psychologically many then use that as an excuse to repeat the same behavior. "Well I already blew my diet so I might as well have this piece of cake". When what the trainers are saying you should do is just jump right back into your intended plan.
My friend who taught and coached golf used to tell me "don't follow a bad shot with a stupid shot" because I had trouble taking each shot as the current shot. I was too tied up on the previous shot--"how'd I end up in the woods--that was a horrible shot!" Inevitably I'd still be tied to the emotions of the last shot and follow it up with another bad shot thereby making it the stupid shot since I didn't let go of the bad shot.
So today I ran and I celebrated the fact that I was running today. And you know what happened? Not only did I have a "good run" I shaved some time off. It was more productive than I'm sure it would have been if I would have stayed in my guilt-mode. So kudos to me today and the reality I found on my run!
But today was different. It may have taken me 6 hours to actually get my butt out the door, but I did it. However, even when I was running I still felt guilty for not running earlier. I kept thinking about whether or not my run was harder for waiting over a week. I thought about the fact that my route "up north" is shorter than my route down here and started feeling guilty about not mapping a longer route up there. But about a mile into my run I came upon this yard that had beautiful flowers still growing for this late in the fall and right in front of them was a sign that simply said "celebrate". One word but it made a difference in my run.
I decided to stop the guilt--afterall, I was out there. I was running. And I should celebrate the fact I was back doing so. It's kind of like what the researchers say happens to some people when they diet. Often times people will "fall off the wagon" and consume more calories than they intend. But psychologically many then use that as an excuse to repeat the same behavior. "Well I already blew my diet so I might as well have this piece of cake". When what the trainers are saying you should do is just jump right back into your intended plan.
My friend who taught and coached golf used to tell me "don't follow a bad shot with a stupid shot" because I had trouble taking each shot as the current shot. I was too tied up on the previous shot--"how'd I end up in the woods--that was a horrible shot!" Inevitably I'd still be tied to the emotions of the last shot and follow it up with another bad shot thereby making it the stupid shot since I didn't let go of the bad shot.
So today I ran and I celebrated the fact that I was running today. And you know what happened? Not only did I have a "good run" I shaved some time off. It was more productive than I'm sure it would have been if I would have stayed in my guilt-mode. So kudos to me today and the reality I found on my run!
R: 3.6 miles 31 min 30 sec
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