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7.12.11

Hammer Toes & Small Achievements

My foot throbs like the thunderous heart of a love-sick giant. I now am fully aware of the importance of training. These past two days of pain was worth it though. When I limp around and people ask what happened, I proudly answer, "It's from running a race." No humbleness here. "I received my battle wound in an epic war against time and pavement and lived to tell the tale! I win, you mothereffers!"

Nah, to be honest. I'm not proud. I'm glad I finished the race in an acceptable amount of time, but I also feel foolish for not training -- I know I could've seriously injured myself for not prepping properly.I look forward to training now that I've experienced first-hand the hellish pain that one faces without it. I'd like to avoid any future puking and ugly hammer toes, thank you.The pain only makes me want to train better, train more.

I'm hooked on races now. No turning back. The camaraderie, the health food swag (except for gu - gross), the satisfaction of crossing the finish line, the fascinating feeling of pushing the body and mind more than one ever thought one could. It's pretty awesome. Funny where life takes you. This time last year, I was a total hater towards running.



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I wrote this following post on 2/2/11. Not sure why I left it in my draft box. But man, do the words, "Remember, the biggest successes in life don't just come out of nowhere. They're an accumulation of all the smaller achievements (and failures)," ring ever so true.


It's important to celebrate even the smallest of achievements.

I don't remember the last time I went running. I remember the last several failed attempts though - at Santa Monica, at Venice beach, at the park, in the gym.... I honestly believe I've never exceeded more than one mile in one run before. Maybe while playing soccer, but that's different. You have goals, a ball and a mission to kick ass. Running? You just have running.
hate running. It's insanely boring, it makes my fat jiggle and I always always end up cramping up. I can probably come up with a couple more reasons if I stopped to think about it. But running isn't something I'd like to think about too much.
Well, can you guess what happened just a couple days ago?! I RAN three miles. Without stopping. No hesitation. Kept shuffling, hustling and puffing away for THREE whole miles. It was surreal. I felt like He-man. Charging through air molecules as though they were a bundle of trees, ready for battle. Oh, and guess what? The three-mile run happened right after I had just hiked for three miles. Oh snap.
I haven't felt this physically accomplished since The Wildcats AKA Too Hot To Handle, my 1994 soccer team (we wore hot pink shirts and sung the The Pink Panther theme song whenever we scored a goal), won the all-girls championships. 
Achieving this accomplishment, though deemed small, really fed the "I can do anything if I put my mind to it" fire. Let it burrrrrrn.

Remember, the biggest successes in life don't just come out of nowhere. They're an accumulation of all the smaller achievements (and failures). 

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