When Life Doesn't Cooperate

I have ten and a half weeks until the next half marathon. However, I have a 10K next weekend and a 5K the weekend after that. So, you might say, there's a lot coming up that in theory, I should be warming up for.

Sometimes life just doesn't allow for other things to squeeze in - say, for example, this week. I know it's only Tuesday that I'm saying this, but every now and again, that's just going to happen. My students are hosting a conference this weekend, the Georgia Collegiate Leadership Conference. I am so excited about this - we've been working on it since October and it'll be so great to see it come to life. But of course, along with planning a conference, especially the week of, there are some challenges that come along. Like being in the office until 7 on Monday, leaving at 5:45 on Tuesday... and knowing what the rest of the week entails. It puts a damper in the sleep schedule and a kink in the gym and running plans.

Part of me looking at my goals in all these running plans for the year, and even in this 10K next weekend, is that sometime it's okay to let other things come first. I mean, I couldn't do much without a job! But part of achieveing goals is knowing that occasionally, there are things that will throw you off course. That will push you to try, try, and try again. And to re-evaluate priorities and be okay with where the wind takes you. Sometimes... the wind will just push you down and tell you to stay in bed and hit snooze. And sometimes that's okay.

Goals are meant to be worked for - they shouldn't come easy, and they definintely deserve some kind of fight. Caving in and giving up gets you nowhere, but anything that comes easy doesn't prove that you've got a fight in you. Fight for it. Make the goal happen, but know that you have to earn it. Marathon medals are earned, not given.