TIaRT: The Gold Star Kid...

Imdecken from Chasing the Kenyans asks this week's Take It and Run Thursday question:

What do you do to get yourself motivated to run when it feels like it's the last thing you want to do?

Way back when I was a young'n (I'm talking Kindergarten here), whenever you did something right, the teacher would lick one of those metallic gold star stamps and stick it to your forehead for all the world to see. The gold star on the forehead became a prime motivator for me. I couldn't wait to get through recess, the afternoon snack, and the period where we rested with our heads down on the desks, to the point where I could run home, burst through the front door and show off my accomplishment to my mother. I became known as the "Gold Star Kid."

I'm a lot older now, but old habits die hard. My training log has replaced the gold star. When I'm having trouble motivating myself to run, I go back through my log and review how far I've come, how my times have improved, and how many miles I have on my feet. It never fails to be a motivator for me. Just knowing that I have accomplished something in the past--and perhaps knowing that it is all too easy to take a day off, and then another, and then another until the threat of a sedentary lifestyle looms--and I head out the door just about every time.
______________________________________

Returned from New Mexico late last Saturday night. I didn't exactly run the sylvan trails I was hoping (it was more like running the 'hoods of Alamogordo instead of Fresno) but the vibe was entirely different. Between the altitude (4300 feet), the major hills, and the beautiful mountains looming at every turn, it was spectacular all the same. Been jammed up all this week, but pictures and more details will follow when I get a chance.