Running Through the Pain

(Seriously, how cool was Zack Morris...?)

I just got finished Day 3's run, and it was painful. My legs felt like jelly last night, and that feeling had only compounded over night. However, I am quite proud to say that I got up and continued on with my running routine regardless. There was a lot of self-motivation both in my head, and at times out loud... luckily, no one else seems to ever use the gym so only I was aware of how completely insane I sounded. I must say though, that running on that treadmill while watching House Hunters International and coercing myself to keep going oddly reminded me of when I used to do cross country and track - oddly because when I did those things there was no t.v. to watch and if there was I would have been watching Saved by the Bell rather than Home and Garden Television. But I remembered the little mind games that I used to play with myself when I would be competing; sometimes I would lie to myself, I would fully convince myself that the lap I was on was the last lap, and then when I was almost across the finish line I would somehow surprise myself with the fact that there was still another lap to go. Or when I used to do cross country running, I swear I would make up in my head that there was a girl right on my heels so I had better kick into the next gear or I was going to get passed - then I would kick it into that gear, cross the finish line and turn around to see that no one was close to me at all. That's what I was doing to myself today, playing little mind games to keep myself from hopping off the treadmill prematurely. The television was actually a big help, it distracted me from staring at the clock on the treadmill watching every second click by. This was the first day I had the t.v. (I couldn't figure out how to use it the first two days... don't I live with a guy in the audio/visual industry??), now if only it had a dvd player hooked up to it and I could watch really entrancing movies so that I could run for hours and have no idea that I had - or I could get so distracted I forget that I am running and fall off the back of the treadmill; honestly, that`s much more likely to happen. Anyhow, the point I was making somewhere along the line was that I was playing those head games with myself, at first I told myself I would only run for ten minutes today because I have a sweet 8 hours shift on my feet ahead of me... and then I decided, well I`ll just go until this couple finishes over-critically viewing this gorgeous home that most people would give their right arm to live in. By that time, I figured I may as well go the commercial break and then I could do my sit-ups doing the commercial. Well, I ended up doing my sit-ups while they viewed the next house (which again they appreciate about as much as dog poop on their front step), so it seems I am simultaneously very smart and very stupid and gullible.

Running Day 3:
20 min
5.5 mph
1.83 miles
+30 sit-ups