Paying the Price

Strolling through Target earlier this week, I got a good chuckle over seeing "running muscles" on sale in the men's athletic wear. If only fitness could be earned with a simple swipe of a credit card!

One of the truisms I've discovered about running is that you're only as good as your last run. No matter what you've done in the past, every run starts with a single step. Every race starts with the clock showing no time elapsed. Every week's log starts at zero miles accrued. When I lace them up and head out each morning, the mileage is a challenge all over again. Slogging through my summer runs, I find it difficult to believe that I was the same person that covered 26.2 exactly eight months ago, despite the finisher medal that remains in my possession.

With that said, I finally get around to the two items that I really wanted to post about today: First, I am making the transition to becoming a full-time morning runner. A.M. running simply fits in better with my work schedule now, and enjoying the cooler temps at sunrise is a nice perk. Second, with thirteen weeks remaining until Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio, I am entering the mileage escalation we lovingly call training. It's the price we pay for making race-day magic possible.

We'll find out this weekend if the body remembers how to handle a long run of 6 miles. Knowing RNRSA will really be more about fun than chasing a PR takes a lot of the pressure off, but I certainly don't want to go home thinking my 2:08 from the Flying Pig was a fluke!

Speaking of apparel shopping, I'm looking forward to the sales tax holiday this weekend. I'm ready to rid myself of a lot of old clothes and replace them with ones in smaller sizes. Now that's progress worth celebrating!