Just Do It

I'm sure all of you know Nike's mantra, Just Do It.

Sometimes I get so sick of advertising, but yesterday I was actually grateful for this one.

Yesterday was one of those days that your eyes pop open when the alarm goes off because you know you've got lots to do.

I quickly got dressed and then sat down with a mug of coffee to begin my NaNoWriMo 2010 story. Outside a storm dumped barrels of water that the wind whipped up into an all-soaking mist. I wrote without thinking, working fast to beat the clock. Within 20 minutes I had almost 500 words down, then I brushed my teeth, kissed my hubby and my dog and ran out the door to work.

During my lunch hour I cranked out another 600 words...its not great stuff but at least its down! That's the whole point of NaNoWriMo...just get your first rough draft down! I tend to want to go back and comb over the first chapter with a fine tooth comb. Its the most important part, after all. Its what sets the tone, sucks readers in and snags your attention like a gorilla in a tutu.

Maybe I've been free writing a bit too much...

Anyways, after work I raced home to do my daily training for this crazy half-marathon I'm going to attempt in January. It was in the low fifties but with the blustery wind still spraying rain it felt a lot colder.

And it was getting dark.

I really really really did not want to run outside.

But Roy needed exercise, and I've promised myself I can order the book Born To Run if I finish three weeks of training...and I really want to read that book. 

So I put on my Nikes and started off. I don't know if it was the hills or the wind or the rain, but it was the most challenging run to date. I was nearing our neighborhood and it was totally dark by this time, but I still had about a mile to go. My calved burned, I was sweating and cold from the wind, Roy was even beginning to drag, and I was getting ready to call it quits and go in and get warm when a song came on my extremely random mix of motivational tunes on Matt's iShuffle. I had the music turned down low so I could hear cars on the main street (where I was not only being pelted by the storm but by the splash of cars driving by as well), and I caught a glimpse of the chorus.

No matter how hopeless, No matter how far...

 I hit rewind and started running again.  It was the song, "The Impossible Dream," from Man of La Mancha. Isn't that what I'm doing? Me, run 13.1 miles? Four is still kicking my butt! It really does seem like an impossible dream. But of all songs on my iShuffle that one kicked me back into high gear. I rounded a few more cul-de-sacs in our neighborhood and felt like I was in some Nike commercial...just do it. I just needed a bolt of lightning for dramatic effect.

And I did. I finished the last mile and had the worst time I've had to date but didn't really care. At least I finished it.

And a hot shower was all the reward I needed.

Then I made dinner, met up for an online book club and then finished my 1,660 words for the day.

And slept really well last night.

All that to say, sometimes you really do just have to lace up your Nikes and just do it. And you find you can.