SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 2017

Some days your schedule gets in the way of the planned run.

Some days the weather is uncooperative.

Some days your body is aching.

Some days you are not feeling tip-top.

Some days you don't feel like running.

Some days it's hard to get your body up and moving.

Some days just don't seem to be a day you will run.

But you do.

You say "scram" to the fog and drizzle.

You run a familiar route for comfort.

You remember too late how tough the opening hills are.

You start smiling after the first big hill, knowing you are "out there" running.

You get psyched about your pace even with the hills.

Your smile grows as your pace drops by 30 seconds in the flatter third mile.

You won't make the distance on the schedule, but you will do the intervals.

You start the first of 10 1:30 uptempo/1:00 recovery intervals.

Your smile gets bigger as you work through the tough set.

You push the uptempo despite quads that are hurting from biking and swimming.

You are grinning as you begin the second stadium loop and the fifth interval.

You see on your watch that over the last 2 miles your pace dropped another 30 seconds.

You feel great on the warm-down run home: Got a run in!

Your planned 16 miler became a 10K, but you don't care.

You know there will be other days when the run comes easy and the schedule is met.

You know this day all that mattered was getting the run in.