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Take Pleasure

Have you ever been in a workout funk? I'm sure you have at some point if you are an avid runner or cyclist. It is one of those things that you typically can rest your way out of and come back like you never skipped a beat.

Have you ever been in a workout funk that you typically can snap out of, but for some reason, 'this time around', no such luck? No amount of rest, or telling yourself to buck up can make it easier.

I can honestly answer 'all of the above' on this one. 

Today I sit at the latter of the two above scenarios and I have NO clue what to do about it, but keep on keeping on. Sometimes telling yourself to 'snap out of it', simply isn't enough and it is SO discouraging. The only saving grace is that I have a friend who supports me and runs with me, even when I'm not my happy go lucky self on and off the trail. We meet on the trail and do our best to log some miles, for which we should always be proud...

Recently I have had a run of interesting luck in life. I don't want to call it bad luck because things could have been worse and I'm positive I have learned something about myself in all of this, but it has still been enough to drag me down a bit. The list includes leaky pipes, new refrigerators, emergency middle of the night plumbers, a leaky hot water heater, a busted kitchen faucet (from the cold). What typically snaps me out of my funk regarding non-workout related problems, is a good workout. That isn't working for me either.

So then what do you reach for to decrease the stress? I reach for the couch and cookies (did I mention my Girl Scout Cookies arrived this week?); both of which are counter intuitive to my desire to run this half marathon successfully this year. I also reach for my friends in the hopes that I don't overwhelm them with my discontent. And I'm lucky enough to say that the people who really matter always show up, no matter what.

I am coming to realize in all of this, is we sometimes need to accept where we are, because it is exactly where we are supposed to be in this moment. But we should strive to make improve things, if we aren't full satisfied with where we are in this moment. I also recognize that if I keep doing what I am doing, at some point it will all come back together again. I think I have said this before, and I truly believe it... Every step we take, even if it is two steps backwards, is a step that needs to be taken to reach our goals.

So rather than be frustrated I'm going to take Troy Dyer's advice from Reality Bites:
So I take pleasure in the details. You know... A Quarter-Punder with cheese, those are good, the sky about ten minutes before it starts to rain, the moment where your laughter becomes a cackle... And I, I sit back and I smoke my camel straights and I ride my own melt. 
And riding my own melt is exactly what I am going to do... After all, the moments I share, both on and off the trail, with my friends are the moments that give me pleasure, along with the long hard journey to the finish line...

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