Stinkin' Thinkin'

This morning, I headed out on my 4-miler with the dog.  It was foggy, warm and humid...in other words, kind of icky.  And creepy.  The dog and I went on our way...I have a 4-mile route through the 'hood and was pretty much on auto-pilot. Running early in the morning like this gives me lots of time to think.  This morning, my thoughts turned to my running and how much I've enjoyed it over the past couple of years - especially since I now run almost exclusively outdoors.

I can remember several years ago and how I started to get burnt out.  I remember how at one point, running seemed like such a chore.  Then I think it hit me - I stopped thinking about it and just started doing it.  Kinda like the Nike tagline, "JUST DO IT".  That's what I was doing!  I stopped thinking:


- Stopped thinking about how hot, humid, cold, or rainy it might be.
- Stopped thinking about how nice it would be to stay in bed.
- Stopped thinking about how boring running alone can be.
- Stopped thinking about how sore or tired my legs felt from the strength workout the day before.
- Stopped thinking about how I should be cleaning or organizing something around the house.

I just stopped thinking and started doing.  For some reason, something clicked - maybe it has helped that I've mixed things up with triathlons and strength training via TRX, P90X, etc.  Or maybe I've realized how much of a gift running can be.  (Especially after being out for five months due to a hip injury!!!)  I look forward to my morning runs and the time it gives me to zone out, or to think.  I look forward to my Saturday morning long runs with my awesome group and the chance to get to know the runners better.  I've heard someone say that they've never regretted a workout, only the workouts they missed.  I totally agree!  And instead of saying, "Just Do It", I can say, "Just Did It".

Stop thinking and start doing! :-)

Do you loathe your workouts sometimes?  How do you keep yourself from getting burned out?