Today is the day after Christmas.  Yesterday was clear and blue…  a near perfect Southern California day for Christmas.  I personally would like to see some sort of weather for Christmas, but there you go.  Beggars can’t be choosers, and well, I have no control over it any way.

But today is a fine overcast, keeping [...]]]>

Today is the day after Christmas.  Yesterday was clear and blue…  a near perfect Southern California day for Christmas.  I personally would like to see some sort of weather for Christmas, but there you go.  Beggars can’t be choosers, and well, I have no control over it any way.

But today is a fine overcast, keeping some of the valley heat in.  So the brisk, but dry 41 degree weather wasn’t that bad.  Like “dry heat,” dry cold is the same.  It just doesn’t feel as cold as it could be.

I headed out and up.

I only started running back in July of 2009.  I’ve been rather “sheltered” in what I was allowed to do as child and never really tried to hit the running circuit of life.  Of late though, it seems that my limitations weren’t really what I thought.  I was only led to believe in these limitations from outside sources.  And that whole thing is for a completely different blog where we rant about our parents.

So I’ve been pushing through my asthma and other issues and when I had my first official run where I signed up for a 5k, through a number of stupid circumstances, my very first timed or official run, I did alone.  It was no one’s fault.  Everyone else I knew was in the event too, but doing the “real running” so it was what it was.

I was pretty disappointed because up until then, I was all about everyone in the family being there for everyone but it was a good perspective to experience as I ran this 5k by myself, amongst strangers.  It was fun to be running with like minded athletes.  I was part of this crowd.  But as I crossed the finish line, the crowd had thinned and I was alone.  No one I knew was at the finish line, but hundreds of strangers were cheering me on.

Or so I was told.  I was in this straggling state of mind where the world didn’t seem to exist and yet I knew the like-minded runners, families and fans were there, saying good job Bruce.  But I did it myself.  I cranked one step after the other to cross that finish line in 35:00 flat.  My real competition was this mother pushing a carriage…  I don’t remember where she finished though.

So no one from my family was there to take my picture.  It was all me.  So I took my own pictures dangit!  And in the end, that’s fine.  Hence, why I say we all run alone.  That’s who pushes us.  Ourselves.  That’s who we’re proud of at the end of the day, ourselves.

~

So I headed out and up today, by myself.  Normally, where I run is pretty flat.  Here in the Santa Clarita Valley, the section I’m visiting in is rather hilly.  Ouch.  I was warned it would hurt the next day…  but they lied.  It started hurting later that day.

But the reason I wrote was to say that no matter what, whether you head out on a solitary run or with a group, it’s something only you can do.  Only you can push yourself or choose to take the easier path of resistance.

It’s something I learned recently and it’s a good thing to know.  At least that way, I’m not fooling myself because I’m the one who has to decide if I want to push myself to new levels of performance or not.  It’s my call.

Thanks for visiting!