Guilty.

"RUN YOUR OWN RACE."

Some days, its is really hard to find gratitude. Many days we are not even thinking about being thankful. We are whining about what a rough day we are having, or we are complaining about something purposeless.
We are looking at yet another run "ANITA" did. Another smiley social media status "Anita" posted.
You can fill in with whatever name you want. The point is we are busy checking out JOE SHMO thinking he has it all together, he is a faster runner, he is a better runner, He has it all together, blah blah blah!
 
I actually had to get off a running social media site because I found myself looking at other peoples training. We are getting honest here.  I was comparing my runs to theirs, my mileage to theirs, my pace to theirs.
There are many problems with this. One of the biggest one, is the more you compare yourself to someone else the more inadequate you feel. The more you find yourself insecure and even jealous or bitter at that person.
 
I recently had a running friend contact me.
"I keep thinking to myself I'm weak, I'm not good, I'm cheating, or lower class...Dunno why I feel this way. Like I thinking Elite runners might look down on us interval runners like we are not doing it right.."
 
First, I am not ELITE.
Second,  Most of the running community is quite encouraging of ALL runners.
Third, As I told her, YOU ARE RUNNING. Just that in itself, is something to be so thankful for.
 
Last year, I spent almost the whole summer riding a bike and crying for miles and miles because I COULDN'T RUN.
I had to give thanks even for that humbling bike ride.
Gratitude for the little things then become big things when you put them in a positive perspective.
 
When you find yourself looking at others, or comparing yourself to others, quickly try to realign your thinking.
Here are 3 things that I do:

1. Give that person compliments, think of nice things about that person.
2. Put yourself in their shoes, their training, their history and give them a little credit!
3. Be nice to yourself, think of things that make you grateful..

I have had years of PR's , I have had months of being stuck in a glider rocker with my leg elevated. I have had my ups and downs in my running career. But at the end of the day, I am grateful for all of it, yes, and even the downs.
Maybe the downs don't always make us a faster runner, but for most of us it isn't even about speed, it is about just being a better runner.
What does that mean? A better runner that isn't faster? It means we learn more than just speed, pace and distance, we learn to be a coach, a cheerleader and a partner to other runners out there.

It is our happy place. A place of gratitude.

The girls waiting for me to take a picture, it is so beautiful,. We ran down Rattalee Lake rd.

Anita