Today I woke up in great anticipation for the sun that I've been hearing would appear! Of course I was awake at 6:30am so I had to give it an hour or so before I could see any sign that today would be a great day for a run. I ate breakfast and threw some clothes in the laundry. I have a strict pre-race ritual, clearly.
At the beginning of my run, I took a deep breath of fresh air and headed toward downtown. There is something special about a Saturday morning run. The streets are quiet. Few people are around. It's just you and the wind. Even though I have my iPod while I run and want to shout songs out as I huff and puff, I think a lot. I mean, 12 miles gives you plenty of time to let your mind wander. Try it sometime. I decided this morning on something I wanted to do during each long run. I want to dedicate my run to someone who will inspire me to keep going. If I feel like stopping, I can think about this person and how much I admire him or her and give it a final push. So as cheesy as this may sound, I'm excited...and grateful.
Today's Dedication: My dad
I thought I'd kick things off dedicating my 12-miler to my good old dad. I cannot believe how hardworking he is and I do not even know the half of it! He commutes to the city for work all day and I'm sure deals with plenty of stressful situations with clients. Not to mention the clients he has as family. We are so difficult to deal with sometimes ;-D Whether he is stressed or not, you would not be able to tell. He always seems to look positive and crack a joke here and there. Sounds like the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Even after work, he will go referee many nights. Talk about staying busy! I admire his ability to succeed in two great professions. Mostly the referee one... :-) Every time I talk to him on the phone to stay in touch, I enjoy it. Whether he is recapping how awful a 5th grade team was or how the Steelers need to win, I realize that no matter how stressful and problematic life can get, you can always take a break and talk about other topics. Other topics like sports, or Jeopardy, or weather, or how someone stole my hubcap over winter break and I am just now telling him....and all of you. Err...it's okay! I still have four wheels and no stress about it. I assume he will be just as stress-free as I am.
How does he do it all? He just does. I appreciate him as a father and I know he is appreciated as a husband, son, uncle, and friend. So why did I dedicate my first difficult run to my dad? I think I just explained it. I accomplished the run through hard work and I've heard he is pretty good at that hard work stuff...
Best,
Anne
Anne
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