Running Hot & Cold

Today I am thinking a lot about motivation. What makes me tick as a person and "athlete". Since I am one of those people that has been "blessed with the gift of guilt" I use my so called shame to get me out the door on days when I really don't feel like training. Today was a prime example. It is boxing day (the day after Christmas for those of you who don't know) which was the first strike against getting out there. I mean who wants to go for a run after twenty four hours of eating rich but tasty food and lazing about the house? Strike two? I am so tired!! Not only am I waking every three to four hours to feed my new baby at night last night we were treated to a puking two year old. If I wasn't nursing a hungry newborn I was mopping up vomit and consoling a very freaked out toddler. Strike three, you ask? My six year old gave us all the gift of a Christmas cold which she contracted courtesy of her germy peers at school. I have been blowing my nose constantly and feeling a little congested. Not ideal physical conditions for a workout and the final nail in the coffin. Suffice it to say I really did not want to go to the gym today.

So I didn't.....

When my husband came home from enjoying a post Christmas shopping spree at the hardware store he reported that it was absolutely gorgeous outside. No wind and very mild. A rarity in this city. So I opted for a nice outdoor run with my favorite jogging partner; our black lab aka Balin.

The run was to say the least not one of my best. I could feel my nose leaking and with my overly exuberant doggie pulling me along I found I had to do lots of intermittent walking to fend off a stitch. Instead of the 5km I planned on I shaved the run down to a very modest 4km at a VERY slow pace.

So what is the point of this? I guess I am still happy that I went. There are good runs and bad runs. Quick paces and slow days. Workouts when I feel on top of the world and others when I feel like I'm at the bottom of the barrel. But the moral of this happy little tale is that regardless of what kind of run I have it is always better than nothing. So God Bless my guilty conscience. It's kept me going when I have one excuse too many to stay home.