Today I ran nine miles. When I started my run it was around 43 degrees and cloudy. As I hit the first mile it started to drizzle. When I hit mile two it was raining. By mile three it was pouring. At this point I could easily have turned around and gone home. However I stuck with the run. I pushed myself to run nine miles because that's what I wanted to do. Running takes as much mental effort as physical effort at times. While I enjoy days where running is fun and easy and enjoyable, I've also experienced days where the best thing about the run was that it was over. I've run in all kinds of bad conditions: heat, humidity, rain, snow, bitter cold, and my all time favorite sleet. My friends and family all shake their head. "Why don't you just skip it today?" they ask. "why can't you go to the gym like a normal person?". Well, I tried that. Actually I spent years going to a gym and running on a treadmill and doing other things. I also skipped plenty of runs because of the weather, or whatever. The truth of the matter is that when I run outside, on the roads, I'm training my mind as much as my body.
I lost the mental toughness I used to have for a time. I let myself get soft mentally and physically. Last spring, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a person I didn't recognize. It was at that moment that I made up my mind. I'm a runner. I will become the runner that I want to be. While I've had ups and downs since then, I've stayed true to the fact that I'm in training. I'm getting mental toughness back. I'm also getting physical fitness back. I'm on the cusp of getting myself to the next level. Whenever I waver, or whenever I have a setback, I look at myself in the mirror and ask if I'm looking at someone I recognize. If I've been going out for regular runs I know exactly who is staring back at me.
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