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My schedule has been a little unusual this week.

On Monday and Tuesday, I did not have any rehearsal in the evening, so rather than sitting around and mindlessly watching television, I made the decision to do a little extra work, bringing my total hours worked to twelve for both days. The result of this decision is that when I finished working today, I'd already completed my forty hours for the week, and starting tomorrow, I have a three-day weekend.

This by itself is nice enough, but for once, I've got the extra day on a Friday, and that means one thing this season - rest day. Not only do I not have to do any office work tomorrow, I don't even have to run. I get to sleep in, guilt free, and I am beyond psyched about it.

What is important for me to recognize right now is how I got to this point, and the answer is by doing more work sooner. By front-loading my week and making the extra effort on Monday and Tuesday, I get to reward myself on Friday.

Delayed gratification is an unavoidable facet of a runner's life. Especially if you're just starting out, it can take a very long time to feel comfortable in your running shoes and to start believing in your abilities. If you're training for a race, it can take five, ten, eighteen weeks of long, tiresome training before you get the joy and excitement of race day. It's a long and winding road (sayeth the Beatles), but the rewards are remarkable. Standing at a finish line with a medal around your neck having accomplished something you never thought possible is an indescribable feeling. You just have to be able to wait.

Waiting is something I'm used to, especially with regard to sports. After all, my favorite sports teams are all... well... they've all sucked for a very long time. And even when they're good, they're not good enough to win the big championships. It's been 17 years since any team I really liked won a championship, and I barely remember that one (go Niners), so I'm hoping for the payoff, and as we near another football season, I've got my fingers crossed.

But I can't control my favorite teams, as much as I tell myself that it matters what hat I wear on game day. Instead, I control my time, and I control my runs, and I'll take the rewards as they come. Life is all about the little joys.

Like turning off your alarm.

Thursday's Run:
78 Degrees / Dark
4.08 Miles
28 Minutes, 29 Seconds