Thursday, February 6, 2014

Life's Hard, Run Harder

I forgot to take my own picture before this post....
This is what it looks like though.
The other day I was folding laundry and found a shirt I thought that I had lost. It's a men's cut shirt that I had to have simply because I loved the slogan. Saucony's "Life's hard, run harder" shirt.

Good concept don't you think?

I have definitely been on a roller coaster lately with everything going on. I will admit that there have certainly been times recently where I let it get me down and where I felt defeated. I whined to some people, I threw myself a few pity parties, and then I kicked my own ass and told myself to GTF over it. There is nothing we can't accomplish as long as we are willing to work hard and fight for it.

While doing a little web browsing, I ended up on the BAA website (surprise,surprise). This isn't something new but the other day, the countdown said 75 days until The Boston Marathon. Wait, what?! Definitely opened my eyes as to how fast it is coming up.

Fact is, I know that  I need to push myself and I need to fight for the things that I want. No, things haven't exactly been easy lately, but life isn't easy and we certainly appreciate the things we work hard for much more than the 'easy things'. I'm training for the Boston-freaking-marathon, if that isn't motivation to get into gear I don't know what is. Even without Boston in the mix, I have some BIG goals this year and they wont be handed to me so it's time to focus.

It's time to work, and it's time to focus on the little things as well as the big things. It's time to start those longer runs, harder workouts, and time to really focus on taking care of myself. I am actively working on identifying and strengthening areas where I am weak, I know that down the road I will be grateful for this.

Life is hard, it doesn't always make throwing in a training schedule easy. Sometimes it makes us mentally test ourselves, and sometimes its the physical test. Sometimes we have to get creative because life schedules just make it difficult to do what we need to do.

 I also know that my version of "not easy" is something some people would pray for. There are so many people fighting harder battles right now than I ever will. People are fighting for the families, people are fighting for their lives, hell...people are overseas fighting for OUR lives. My trials and challenges are tiny in this big world. So it's time to stop worrying about things and simply run harder, so to speak.

Time to stop making excuses, run harder.

Running harder can mean whatever you want it to. Maybe it means adding more workouts that challenge you, maybe it means simply dedicating yourself to things more.  Maybe it means running faster or longer or maybe it means not running at all.

To me running harder right now means running smarter. Work harder on workouts, slowing down on 'easy days', paying attention to the little things (muscle stability, core work, stretching, foam rolling), and staying true to what I know works for me.

Maybe to you, running harder has nothing to do with running but more general aspects of life. Either way, it's time we run harder despite what life throws at us.

What does your version of 'Run Harder' Mean?

13 comments:

  1. Great post. Sometime I find that when life gets hard for me, I tend to run harder. I put my frustration, heartache, whatever it is into my running. It's my way to let off steam. But for me "run harder" also means to run with more purpose and to run more often. I'm always happier when I do. You've got this!

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  2. To me it means trying to do better each time I'm out there

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  3. Good post! I know you're getting anxious because of that date and I know you are going to be prepared to kick some butt up in Bahstan! Good luck with your training. Kick ass but be kind to yourself.

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    1. I'm more anxious than I thought I would be for it, only makes me want to work harder!

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  4. My run harder is pushing myself on days where I would rather be a couch potato.

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  5. You are playing it smart! Boston is coming soon, but you'll be ready. It doesn't take long to get the fitness. :) I'm balancing hard with recovery. My mind says MORE, but my legs say REST today. That's a tough hurdle to get over.

    SmallTownRunner.com

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    1. Knowing when to rest, and actually resting are 2 really difficult things! Same with building mileage, I want to run more and my mind is ready to get back into the miles but I know my body needs time!

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  6. Great post Laura! To me it's about doing my very best for that particular day. Some days I can run stronger and faster than others. But I try to do the best that I can each and every time I'm out there!

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  7. Regardless of anything that happens in your training, just making it to the start line at Boston is winning. You're going to have a blast whether you run a PR or a PW, just make sure you take it all in and enjoy! That being said, kick some ass!

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  8. Wow, that makes is sound like Boston is just around the corner... crazy!! I'm looking forward to running harder post- baby... for now, I'm enjoying whatever miles I can get in!

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