Day Two...and I am still in

I really had to talk myself into getting out there today. First of all it was really hot...weather wise I mean. It wasn't that hot in the early AM, but I kept adding to my list of things I had to do before I allowed myself to begin training. Things like brush my teeth, load the dishwasher, take something out for dinner, you know the typical things you do when you are putting something off.

It reminded me of the time back in 2000 when I planned a trip to Ireland with my son and my mother. We planned for months, everyone was on go, we were going to meet up with my oldest brother who was living in Europe at the time. All of us were excited. About a week before the trip Mom called,"I don't think I am going to be able to go with you on this trip." Why not!, I exclaimed (more like yelled into the phone). "Because, there is just too much I need to do at home". "Like what?", I asked with sarcasm dripping. "Well, I need to clean out my closets", she answered. You have to understand, this woman does not do house work, all labor on her property is paid for and done by others. Why all of a sudden at age 69 she decided she couldn't leave her house until her closets were cleaned was a mystery, and a mystery that was frustrating me to my limit. I soon put things together and realized, this was a diversion tactic, she was trying to say she didn't want to go because it was taking her out of her routine and comfort zone.

Recalling this event made me realize that I could be turning into that part of my mother that I had always been at odds with. I was using small household chores to divert myself from what was before me....another thirty minutes of torturesome road work. I disliked the thought of possibly having the same faults I had been so highly critical of in my mother more than I disliked doing the walking/running. So, off I went spurred on by decades of complicated relationship with mother. Which lead me to think about why I was doing this in the first place. That reason of course would be my own daughter. The runner, the encourager, the one who kindly pushes you forward towards things you might not want to do but should do. See, she is even a better daugher than I am, she can get me to do things that are outside of my norm. I will do this again today for the same reason I started it, because...I am inspired by my daughter.