No Excuses

Since I started running in July 2011, I have received a lot of praise. Or maybe "admiration" is a better word. Nope, nope; ego-boosting. Yeah, that's it. Thanks to everyone who has made me feel like I am doing something really good for myself. Not to say I need it--thanks to the great exercise and all of those endorphins, the way I feel physically and mentally now is the best I have ever felt.

Even so, I still encounter some nay-sayers.

"Running is horrible for your joints, so your body is going to hate you later in life."

Weird. My mom has been running for like, 25 years and is still going strong. I know another woman who, at 60-something years old, is running faster than most people my age can. And have you seen how fast some of those mall-walkers move? Yes, there are some people who suffer at older ages because of the hell through which they put their younger bodies while running. I'm willing to take the risk of some joint issues in lieu of being a sedentary blob fighting diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease.

"The first guy to run 26.2 miles died from it."

I think it's safe to assume that he didn't properly train for that fateful run through Greece or whatever.  Oh yeah, and he had just completed a battle immediately prior to running.  Probably didn't hydrate, fuel, or wear wicking materials to keep his body cool, either. Our bodies CAN do amazing things like completing marathons, half-marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks, and even 1-milers. You've got to start somewhere.

"I wish I could do what you're doing, but I just don't have the time for it."

Way to imply that your life is so much busier than mine. But do you really think it is? Most of us work and have responsibilities on top of that. Joe works easily 50 to 60 hours per week and has class until 9:00PM two nights per week, but still fits in a one-hour workout 5 days per week AND runs four to five days on top of that. I run with women and men who have 2 and 3 kids and who have been running since said kids were crapping their pants; some of them are even single parents. My own mom started running when I was a baby. You might not have the time the way you do things now, but you can definitely make it.

"No excuses" was the cheesy motto our boys tennis team used in high school. There are definitely no excuses.