Hi there. It’s Friday the 13th. Are you superstitious? I’m not. And frankly yesterday everything was weird and messy so I’m hoping to be in the clear today.

I’m headed to Dr. Williams in a few minutes for my 4th ART and Graston. I’m excited to tell him I made it to 4 miles yesterday.

4 miles

The only issue happened about 1/4 mile before I stopped running my knee gave out and I felt the limp come on but within a minute it worked itself out and I was ok so I ran the rest of the way. Bottom line is that the knee is improving but I still have more work to be done before I am “healed”. At least I didn’t feel so sluggish and sore like I did on Wednesday’s run. I actually felt sick all day Wednesday and came home and got under the covers so I’m wondering if I might have just been fighting something.

fighting something

And before I got under the covers I checked my mailbox and low and behold I got 2 running catalogs….SHOCKER! =)

Running catalogs

Thank god I feel better now. My 4 miles was still slow but I didn’t feel slow. Funny how the same pace can feel so hard one day and so easy the next.

Oh and I’m headed to the NYC Half Marathon Expo this afternoon after my Chiropractor appointment. I’m going to tell Dr. Williams my plan although now I think I’ve adjusted it again. I’m going to walk 9 miles and run the last 4.

So that brings me to my post title. I was listinening to my music yesterday while running and this one lyric stuck in my head:

Giving up is not an option.

Sometimes it’s easy to want to give up. It seems easier to deal with it if you just give up. Right? Imagine if I gave up on life after my husband died? I would’t have discovered running. I wouldn’t have Duncan. I wouldn’t have had the most amazing life experiences that paralleled my journey through my grief. I wouldn’t have met Mr. SOTSS. The list goes on and on.

So back to running…so many things might get you down…an injury, not attaining a race PR, not seeing progress. But the key is not to give up. Just make accommodations for where you are right now. If you’re injured (like me) be proud of the minor signs of healing like making it 4 miles instead of 3. If you didn’t reach that PR maybe you should choose another race and train to have fun rather than shoot for a time goal. If you’re not seeing progress shift your focus to something else like focusing on your running form or trying out new gear. But don’t ever just say “that’s it I’m done”. And don’t let discouragement knock you down. (Yes, I sort of wrote this for my own ears here!) Accept and accommodate the roadblocks and figure out a way to navigate through in a way that will keep you fulfilled and with a smile on your face. On that note I’m thinking I might have to evaluate my normal fueling needs for a half. I’ll be out on the course for 3 hours which is at least 45 minutes longer than I normally would be so I might need a little more fuel.

Speaking of fuel…Duncan was a little overzealous this morning with his breakfast. Um, that’s the container I store an entire bag of food in…

breakfast of champions

He’s really been cute in the mornings lately too.

pillows are the best invention

Ok before I go all doodle picture crazy I better sign off.

So what words do you find powerful or inspirational?

Do you ever find yourself wanting to give up on something hard? How do you handle it?

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