Motivation From Your Own Personal Arnold

My very first 5K is just under 72 hours away! I hope I am prepared. I registered for the race a couple of days ago, so there's no turning back now. I just finished my run and the sun was just beating down on me. I usually run about an hour earlier than I did today, so I'm not used to so much heat. Thankfully the zoo run will be at 8am, so we should finish before the sun starts to heat up the pavement.

Today I ran 3.6 in 28:22, which is 7:53 per mile. That's an improvement of 27 seconds per mile from last time! Sweet. It was a tough run though. During my run I thought over and over again about stopping early, or taking a walk break. I wasn't sure if I could finish. One thing that kept me going was that I knew that if I finished my run that I could use that experience the next time I felt like quitting. I would be able to tell myself, "Look, you know you been here before. You wanted to quit, to stop and whine like a baby about how hard it is, but you didn't. You kept going and you finished. It's hard, but you can do it because you've done it before." After a few of those experiences you begin to trust yourself when the tough side of your conscious (the one that looks like a tiny Arnold Schwarzenegger doing bicep curls on your shoulder) says you can do it.

Well, that's my life lesson for today. Until next time...

"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about." -PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian

Steve Prefontaine

Good news, my leg is doing better now. I took two days off and played basketball on Sunday. It is Monday morning and I don't feel any pain when I walk. I'll start running again tomorrow, probably another 6:1 for 30:00 at Highview Park.

Question: have you ever heard of Steve Prefontaine? If not, it is about time you have. I'm not going to write a bio here (you can read about him here and here and watch his story in the films Fire on the Track, Prefontaine, and Without Limits), but I'll just say that Pre, as they call him, is a running legend. His story is inspiring, motivating, and sad. He died when he was only 24. He competed with heart and guts, and watching him makes you ask yourself why you're not giving it all you've got. He is quoted as saying: "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."

I can't wait to run tomorrow.