Wow, what a busy weekend!

I'm a member of a local foreigners' running club, duh! I have met lots of nice people through the club. But, this weekend my club put on their annual half marathon race. It was quite an event! We had over 8,000 runners compete in the race. It was wild! The preparation for the event started on Saturday and the race was yesterday (Sunday--remember, I'm a day ahead of you). Since I know a little Japanese, I worked in the resale booth selling the club's various merchandise, such as sweatshirts, t-shirts, sports bottles, blankets, Polo shirts, etc. We ended up making tons of money, but it was really cold. At one point, it started sleeting. You could hear the sound of little ice chunks hitting the canopy that covered us and the merchandise. After standing in the cold for about 8 hours selling crap, my fingers and toes were numb.


When the race was over, I came home and tried to warm myself. I was tired, cold, and needed a nap. Both Husband and I collapsed on the couch like couch potatoes. Even though Jude was tired (he went with us but stayed in the "babysitting room" where it was nice and toasty), the little stinker just kept going and going. Even though he woke up at 5 AM, he never took a nap!

So, today is Dr. King Day, and Husband has the day off. Since Jude goes to a Japanese International School, he doesn't get the day off. So, we sent him to school, and we spent the day cleaning up our apartment. It was a total wreck from this weekends chaotic-ness.

I can't stand it when my apartment is a mess. If things are out of order, I feel out of order. Husband and Jude could care less about mess, but not me. In my world, every thing has a place and there's a place for everything. And, I like for everything to be in its home.


No running this weekend because of the big race. That will resume tomorrow at the butt crack of dawn. We plan to run 17 miles on Saturday. In some strange, sadomasochistic way, I'm really looking forward to the 17 mile run. I love the feeling of pushing myself. I like being able to turn myself off--not in a sexual way, but in a mental way....let me explain...when you run and get tired, you hear a little voice saying this hurts, let's stop, but you can't listen to it. In order to run long, you must turn it off. You must take control and over come that little voice telling you stop. If you stop, you fail. And, for me, failing is never an option. You must push through and push through the hurt. If you give into the voice, you'll never accomplish anything. Your body desperately wants to preserve itself, and it tells your brain loudly to stop. But, you control your body-- not the other way around. I know for some of you this probably doesn't make any sense. Perhaps you've never pushed yourself beyond the bounds of your possibilities. Maybe you don't know that feeling. But, I do--and that feeling is addictive. It's amazing to see what is possible when you push yourself. It's amazing what you can become.


When you run, you are only running against yourself. You are pushing yourself to beat that little voice in your head. When I can push through a 13, 15, or 16.5 mile run, I feel accomplished. I feel fab-u-lous! I might hurt a little that day or the next day, but I recover quickly. And, the feeling of accomplishment trumps all pains or aches I might have.


Call me a control freak, obsessive compulsive, a lunatic....whatever you want-- I certainly won't deny that I'm any of those things, but you must also call me determined, strong willed, and most of all...a marathoner.


Lots of people tell me they can't run because of this and that. I hear people say all the time oh, I can't run...I've got bad knees. When I hear that, I just want to slap them! One of my current running buddies has had 2 knee replacements. He's got metal rods and screws in his knees--that hasn't stopped him. He runs with a weird gait, but he runs...and pretty damn quickly, too. Or, people say I can't run because it hurts. Well, duh, McFly...everything hurts when you've been sitting on the couch for the last 10 years of your pathetic life! Or, the worst one is I can't run, I've got asthma! Then, I typically ask What do you take for your asthma? Usually their response is Oh, I don't take anything. In my mind, if you have asthma and don't take anything, then your asthma isn't very severe, and you have no fucking excuse for not running or exercising! Remember, I have asthma and take at least 2 medications daily to control it. So, I don't want to hear any more excuses from anyone. I just wish people would say the truth, like I can't run because I'm fat and out of shape. Or, I can't run because I just don't care enough about myself to exercise the way God had intended for me to.


Remember, anything worth doing is typically hard. Whether it's getting a college degree, getting a pay raise, getting a good job, or getting into shape. It all takes hard work. So, quit bitching and moaning about it and just fucking do it! Life's short! Do you want to spend the rest of your life saying what if or making excuses! Life's full of excuse makers, and I'm not one of them!


So, quit reading this, turn off your computer, grab your walking/running shoes, and head for the door. Walk for about 30 minutes. During that walk, try to run for 1 minute. See how it goes. Then tomorrow, do it again. But, run for 1 minute and 30 seconds. The next day, do the same and gradually increase your running time. In a few short weeks, you'll be able to run for 30 minutes or about 3 miles. Come on, I know you can do it! If a midget, Mexican, momma with asthma can do it, so can you! Remember, running is just putting one foot in front of the other...that's all there is to it! So, let today be your day...no more excuses! Life's too short for them!

Gotta run! I hope to see you out there!