Promise Yourself You'll Never Give Up

Think about it! How long should a baby try to learn how to walk? How long would you give the average baby before you say, “That’s it, you’ve had your chance”? You say that’s crazy? Of course it is. Any mother would say, “My baby is going to keep trying until he learns how to walk!” No wonder everyone walks.

There is a vital lesson in this. Ask yourself, “How long am I going to work to make my dreams come true?” I suggest you answer, “As long as it takes.” --Jim Rohn

Tonight, I was listening to a seminar called "The Challenge to Succeed" by Jim Rohn on my MP3 player while running. If you didn't know this about me, I am a motivational speaker junkie. I figure if I am going to saturate my subconscious with what I listen to, it might as well be words that will change my life for the better and I need all the positive motivation I can get, especially with a Half Iron man in 133 days (in 4 months, 13 days).

I daydream all the time of being a motivational speaker. I love telling stories. I really like those kind of stories that you really have to flail your arms and illustrate points with body language. I was going to Toastmasters once a week until I got the triathlon bug. I still plan to go back one day. I want to be one of those grannies one day that is known for her great stories. One day I tell ya...I have not given up on that yet.

So I am on vacation this week, trying to get to St.Thomas. Flights are full all across the board so that plan is delayed just one more day. In the meantime, training is going well. I am back to working out 5-6 days a week. I have had 2 back-to-back solid runs. When I have days like these, it makes me wonder how much improvement would I see if I ran every day. Would I get faster? Would it feel easier? Part of me wants to try it for my next race (August 7, Bridgeland Triathlon). Right now, I currently run 3-4 days with a long run as one of those days. I could increase that to 5-6 runs a week.

Would this put me at rock star status? Hmmmmm?

Here is another Jim Rohn gem I have collected on this trip:

"We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment."

Oh, how true this is for me. I wanted to get up early and swim/run Monday morning before heading to the airport. I did not do it. All day long, I worried about how I was going to fit in my workout. I beat myself up all day until I finally squeezed a run in at 7:30pm that night. Each way I choose to go, it will hurt. Either I deal with the struggle of being sleepy, or I deal with the pain of my mental beating when I am wide awake. So I should be picking the option that will get me closer to my goal instead of the self defeating option.

Doesn't that sound like a no brainer? Sigh.

Unfortunately, as soon as the word vacation comes into play...all healthy eating habits go out the window. Pizza, ice cream, lasagna, hot dogs, cupcakes and soda have all come to party in my stomach the past few days. So although I am working out like crazy, I am not doing much to curb the appetite. Again, that quote above comes into play.

This needs to be my new mantra.

It will start when I get back from vacation, of course.