One Shot

As I'm writing this, the rain is tapping on the roof. More rain is expected tomorrow - my last long run before the half marathon that will mark the end of this training season. The last several months have been a constant battle to motivate myself, getting up at 6am in the dark during the winter, putting on yaktrax, miles upon miles on the hated treadmill. So many times I wanted to skip just one workout, sleep in on a Saturday just once instead of meeting up for a long run. Last Saturday I ran in the pouring rain, and tomorrow looks to be more of the same. Yesterday I met a bear a half mile in to my run, but rather than flee to the safety of my car, I picked a new route and did the miles. That's not to say I've been perfect, but I have rarely missed a day, and most days I even did my scheduled mileage.

Why do I do it? Missing one workout is not a big deal. Is it?

On my iPod, as many runners do, I have the song Lose Yourself by Eminem. I rarely run with headphones, except when I'm on the treadmill. I can't face a treadmill workout without them. And I always play this song. The opening lines are:

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted-One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

That one shot, that one opportunity isn't the big race. Every workout, every run is its own shot. You can't have success on the big day without treating each and every run like that one day, one run, one mile, one step is the most important you've ever run.

I post occasionally about junk miles, but the truth is that those are the most important. You can't run big without starting small. All those tiny pieces build your body and mind, and missing even one means that you didn't fulfill your potential. Even when it's cold, rainy, dark, snowy, treadmill.

So tomorrow morning I'm going to get up in the cold rain and go run.

Feet fail me not this may be the only opportunity that I got