I am lucky enough to have friends who conveniently live about 20 minutes away from this place,

Lucky me!

and right across the street from this place.

I can tell you, there is nothing like this within running distance of my humble abode, so you can bet I take advantage of this beau-tee-ous spot every chance I travel to the northern regions.  (At least north for this Black Dog).  And each time I hit this particular spot of pavement, typically inhabited by nothing more than a handful of other runners, walkers, cyclists, and mutts with their owners, I find the brain cells wandering back to why I continue to plop one foot in front of the other.

Why, Black Dog? Why?

Do I run for the health benefits?  Perhaps – even though my IT bands like to think otherwise.  Do I run for the blessed solitude that I so often never seem to find?  Maybe so.  Do I run because at times I can be a sentimental schmuck and love that it’s one of the main reasons the hubby and I found each other?  I’m sure.  Whatever the reason(s) may be, I know most of them are different – with some similarities I’m sure – for each and every one of us.  One thing is a guarantee though.  Once we start, it’s pretty rare that we can just stop.  Either because we can’t, we don’t want to, or a combination of both.  Those miles become our crack and all we can do is find a way to get our next fix.

I don’t know why Mommy runs, I’m just happy that she does.  Especially when she takes me too!

Whatever our reasons may be, it’s a personal journey for all of us.  Some of us may choose to view it as a battle with ourselves and our will to fight through the pain, seeming lack of available oxygen, or our own brains, (who here has psyched themselves out of running one last sprint because we just didn’t think we had it in us?).  I’ve read about runners who have actually sat down on the curb in the middle of a race and thrown a hissy, never making it to the finish line for any number of unknown reasons.  Is our own brain the single largest obstacle to our running success – whatever our definition of success may be?  Probably so.  But I also like to think it can be our greatest ally when it feels like everything that can go wrong, does.

You are stronger than you think!

Whatever your reason may be for getting off your dupa and getting it moving, whether it be to the gym, in the pool, on the road, or wherever your fitness path may take you, one thing is for certain – it’s ALL GOOD.  Movement, of any kind, is always better than none at all.  That corny saying of you’re lapping everybody on the couch?  Darn tootin’!

As I continue my daily battle with my own greatest enemy – myself – I invite you to join along with me in keeping our eye on the prize.  That “finish line” is the best version of ourselves, both mentally and physically.  Will our bad habits always be banging on the door, begging us to scarf down just one more scoop of Moose Tracks?  Of course they will.  What we do when we open that door is what will either make or break us.  We will give up and/or give in – that’s just human nature, but hopefully it’s only occasionally.  How we handle our own personal demons is what will determine our success.

I hope if you’re having one of those “I’m just not feeling it today” kind of days, this little rambling of mine helps you find some motivation, and reminds you why you started your fitness journey in the first place.  That finish line is always a fluid one and like it, we need to be fluid too.  Be flexible, be open-minded, but most of all, be accountable to yourself.  You may find you’re just a little bit easier to live with if you are.

Enjoy the ride.

How do you get or keep yourself motivated when you’re just not feeling it?