Dependency and Accomplishments

I've recently realized just how dependent upon outside factors I am when it comes to having a good run. In my mind I need my $100 Brooks sneakers, my Nike cold weather pants,  my ipod telling me my pace and how many miles I have left, family and friends at the finish line cheering my name, my compression socks, comments on my blog, and various other things to allow me to have a good race. Last summer I took a vacation to Ethiopia and while I was riding a bus to a rural town I passed by a group of runners heading down the side of the dirt road. Most of them had no shoes. None of them had an ipod. Their pace was crazy-fast. I remember thinking now, those are runners. I am now at a point where I can appreciate those types of athletes, realize that they are light-years ahead of me in terms of physical fitness, and then put on my Brooks, ipod, and nike pants and go for a run. There's no shame in using the things I need to run farther and faster. Running is all about challenging yourself. Most of us will never win be elite runners, never win a race, and won't be sponsored by a running company...and it doesn't matter one stinkin' bit. Every time I go for my longest run or clock a new PR is a win in my book, and whatever gets me there is fine with me.

Throwback pic from Ethiopia. We were hiking in the Simien Mountains.

Speaking of wins...the past few days have thrown me a couple awesome personal accomplishments. On Saturday I completed my longest run to date...17 miles! I walked the hills, but it was a still a good run. REALLY sore hips the next day which is something I haven't experience before. Then, today I went out for a 5k and when I was finished my ipod told me that my average pace was under 9:00 minutes...heck yes! I did a fist pump in the air and some tourists looked at me funny :)

Update on my chocolate ban: I'm doing really well...haven't caved yet. It actually turned into a "no desserts at all" challenge. My place of employment is making it incredibly hard though. It seems like every other day there are extra cookies or brownies after a lunch meeting somewhere in the firm. We also have a monthly birthday party that includes 3 cake choices, and about 6 ice cream choices. I had a diet coke. No lie. And today I walked into the office kitchen to find this flyer posted:


A freakin' bake sale! Talk about temptation.