The "Get To"

Well this morning I checked one of my goals for this week off the list by getting up early and going for a morning run.

I'd been thinking a lot about how I was going to make it work. Our (mostly) sweet Ellie wakes up around 6 a.m. every morning and our alarm is set somewhere around 7:30. One of us wakes up with her at 6:30,  takes her out and then crashes on the couch for another hour or so (all while a crazy "morning puppy" is biting, swiping, and jumping all over you). While Josh can pass out on the couch almost instantly, I don't go back to sleep so easily. So this morning I got up and tossed her outside and then Josh slept with her on the couch while I ran.

It worked like a gem! I got to go for a 2 mile run (not used to that only taking 20 minutes) and I came home to a sleeping man and biting puppy. Perfection.

Thought I was going to get puppy kisses - got puppy bites instead

The rest of my morning was spent in a Bar Review lecture. The topic was ok - criminal law, thankfully - and the lecturer did his best not to be dense but lets face it: 3.5hrs of anything is going to be boring. He surprised me at the end though by offering us one last piece of advice. I was expecting "get a good night's sleep before the exam" or "take this studying seriously" or even just something totally silly. Instead, he said:

"Everything in life can be broken down into two categories: things you have to do, and things you get to do. Remember that this is something you "get" to do. You'll do far better if you think of it like that"

I know we runners talk about the power of positive thinking all the time, so I won't belabor the point but I will say this: there are so many things in live that we have to do. We have to pay bills, we have to change diapers/take out the trash/clean the floors/go to work at a job - or two, or three - we hate. At the end of the day there are so few things we "get" to do. Even then, they can sometimes become a chore.

So if nothing else, don't let running fall into the "have to" category. Even if you feel like you "have to" get in x number of miles, or hit a certain pace, remember that there are so many people who wake up every morning and don't even have the option to run a step. It's easier to remember when we're injured, or when we're coming off of a great race - it's a lot harder to remember when we're in a rut. Running may be a natural part of the human condition, but being a runner certainly isn't. At the end of the day, being a runner is a privilege we've earned by having the courage to try it, and because we love it. We run because we love it, and we get to.

Keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow brings another opportunity for a morning run. Whatever the case, tomorrow's miles will be for all of you out there who can't run today or tomorrow. And because I get to.

Happy Running!