Attitude.... Having the right attitude about things can make the difference between success and failure. I woke up this AM anxious to run, having had to take a day off yesterday. But I was nervous about how my foot would feel, and was hesitant to try it. I did a lot of massage, stretching and ultrasounding on it last night, along with ice and Aleve, and it was pretty sore afterwards. This AM it felt ok getting out of bed and getting ready, but I still had my doubts about how it would feel while running. I read an article some time ago about icing an injury BEFORE you work out, and that worked wonders on my knee while I was recovering from my surgery, so I used the same method on my foot this AM. Headed out the door into the 5am darkness, and was surprised at the return of the warm, muggy weather. Where was the air? All I was thinking was "here we go again", referring to the 3 week spell we had of relentless heat and humidity not long ago. I was not looking forward to this run. My attitude sucked. The schedule called for 14 miles. I mapped out a 3.5 mile loop by the house and I figured I'd do laps of that, giving me the opportunity to bale out early if the foot didn't cooperate. I started out cautiously, barely shuffling along. The foot felt ok, but I had to duck into the woods soon after starting. Gone are the days that I could load up on garlic and hot pepper pizza the night before and not have it bother me the next day when I ran. Anyway, I plodded through the first 3.5 miles without incident, but was lamenting to myself that there were still 10+ miles to go in this muk. Kept shuffling along, dreading the rest of the run. At around the 5 mile mark, I bumped into my neighbor Gary who was on his way back home from his run. Got the obligitory (slimy, wet) bearhug and good morning from him, and we paused in the middle of the roadway to chat, as we usually do when we meet up like this. Gary has one of the best attitudes about everything of all the people I know. There we were, both hot and dripping wet, and he was enthusiastically punching his fists in the air saying "Look at this! Look around at the beauty and all that we have. Look at what we are able to do. This is what it's all about. It doesn't get any better than this!" He was right of course. We wake up every day and we make a choice about how we will handle our day. It's easy to grumble and complain about things, but that doesn't really accomplish anything. Seeing the positive side of things may take a little bit of effort, but it's a worthwhile effort. Yesterday I was grumbling that I couldn't run. Today I was running, yet I was grumbling at how difficult it felt. Something is wrong with that picture. So after saying goodbye to Gary, I was amazed at how much better I felt for the rest of the run. Had the weather suddenly gotten better? Had I magically strapped on a new pair of legs? No. The only thing that changed was my attitude, and that made all the difference. It was a great run.

Bob- I got up and stepped out to run at 5:00 a.m. this morning and felt the hot humid air- unlike yesterday mornings nice, cool "light" air. It's funny- when I took off I was worried about my hamstring so I started at a mere jog. I ended running my whole run at that pace- almost 1 minute per mile slower than I normally run- but it turned out to be one of the best runs I have had lately. Normally I am trying to make sure I stay at a certain effort level/pace but today it was just a "enjoyment" glad I can run day. With everything going on lately I have been asking myself "what injury or illness is next that's going to keep me from running" but today it was a change in attitude of "I am glad to just be out here getting miles in". I guess Gary's attitude flew south to Georgia this morning.

Bob- I got up and stepped out to run at 5:00 a.m. this morning and felt the hot humid air- unlike yesterday mornings nice, cool "light" air. It's funny- when I took off I was worried about my hamstring so I started at a mere jog. I ended running my whole run at that pace- almost 1 minute per mile slower than I normally run- but it turned out to be one of the best runs I have had lately. Normally I am trying to make sure I stay at a certain effort level/pace but today it was just a "enjoyment" glad I can run day. With everything going on lately I have been asking myself "what injury or illness is next that's going to keep me from running" but today it was a change in attitude of "I am glad to just be out here getting miles in". I guess Gary's attitude flew south to Georgia this morning.

Alan, you were due to have a good run, especially after having to lay off because of that busted toe. I'm glad Gary's attitude paid you a visit. We become slaves to our training schedules sometimes, and forget why we are out there in the first place.

Hope your having a wonderful morning! Have a WONDERFUL weekend as well Bob!

Thanks Pam! Not much to report on my run this AM except it was slow and sloppy with sweat. I'm gonna do what you do often and that's put in another short easy run tonight. Then it's out the door probably by 6am for an 18 miler tomorrow. I might was well just sleep in my run stuff! Hope you have a great weekend too!

Running in the rain... ...and thunder and lightning! Put in an easy 4 miles when I got home after work, just in time for a thunderstorm to move in! It was a great run though! This morning's run felt pretty crappy so I didn't know what to expect here. Took it nice and easy, enjoyed the coolness of the rain and the sound and sights of the thunder and lightning, and everything felt great! Since it was raining, I didn't want to mess up a fresh set of running clothes, so I put on my wet stuff from this morning's run which was still sitting in a pile outside by the back door. Ewww, did it smell bad! That was pretty gross! I also used a pair of recently retired shoes. My pair from this AM was still wet, and I didn't want to get my other pair wet cuz I was gonna need them in the AM. Recycling at it's best.

I have a friend who lives in Hawaii, and she recently ran a race there that was put on by the father of a girl who lost her life to cancer at a very young age. She was a promising runner, and she journaled the last months of her life. They made a book out of her journal, it's called "Mango Days". When I learned that my friend was running this race, and heard the reason behind it, I sent a donation to the cancer society on her behalf. The father of the girl learned of my donation, and today in the mail much to my surprise, I received a copy of the book from him, along with a very touching letter thanking me. I am very often humbled by the thoughtfulness and generosity of others. I can't wait to start reading it.

WOW! Enjoy reading it! It's amazing how the things we do can effect others! BTW Nice run this morning!!

Good run Bob. I am jealous- you ran in 62* windy weather while I ran in 98* sunny weather this afternoon.

How's the legs feeling today? Oh and if your weather is anything like mine today, did you actually think it could get any cooler? I checked the forecast and tomorrow's high here is supposed to be 65 Hope your having a great day Bob!!