Lost Love...

The last few weeks have been rough.  Mainly because I made the mistake of forgetting how much I love to run.  With less than a month until my Marathon, I'd let myself get so bogged down in what my training schedule told me I had to accomplish that I forgot to just go out there and enjoy myself.  I began to see my training as more of a "have to" instead of a "get to" and it clouded my vision of why I started in the first place.

Isn't that the truth about so many things?  We get so stressed and so busy that things in our lives just become a giant "To-Do" list.  We hurry, hurry, hurry to check one item off and move on to the next item and daily life becomes a chore rather than an opportunity to do things we love to do.  Days turn into weeks, weeks into months and suddenly we realize time has passed and we forgot to enjoy it!
So, how did I get out of my funk?

I went for a long run. 

(I know, it sounds like I'm talking in circles, but hang with me).

See, a long run means I run a little slower and get to notice the world around me.  It means I plan routes that don't exhaust me so I get to lift my head up and enjoy the scenery.  It means that for 3+ hours, I put one foot in front of the other and I just breathe.  And, after a few deep, cleansing, fresh-air breaths, the "have to" falls away and I remember why I love to run!

What would that look like in our day-to-day lives?  What if we took things a little bit slower?  Maybe made sure we didn't try to keep a schedule that exhausts us.  What if we took time to look around us?  Make a point to remember how much we love our friends and family...how much we love having fun...how much we love living!!

There will always be mundane things that have to be done, that really are items on a to-do list.  That's just the way it is, especially if you are preparing for something big, however, you can choose to check those things off - see them as means to an end - so that you can get back to loving the things you love to do!

Run Strong!