Three Little Words

There can be a great deal of power in three small words.

Sometimes, they can get your body to do things that you never thought possible. "One more mile" means an awful lot after you've run 25. "Get out! Fire!" can give you superhuman escape abilities. The right combination of words can remove pain, increase adrenaline and have any number of effects on your physiology.

Then there are the combinations of words that can change your life. "It's a boy." "You have cancer." "Don't eat that." And, let's not forget the granddaddy of all three-word phrases: "I love you." These are small sentences (and I can think of many more that are even shorter) that have huge effects on your life. Sometimes, the more simple the statement, the more profound the message.

Yesterday, I learned another three-word phrase that holds perhaps more power than any I've come across so far. "We've got time." (Yes, I know a contraction is really two words, but let's not split hairs here.) My morning run completed, my wife and I discussed running a couple errands before my rehearsal yesterday. On our way out the door, we thought of three more places to go, and when rehearsal was cancelled, we suddenly had the whole day at our disposal, and I'm happy to say we didn't waste a minute of it.

Too often, when I consider doing something, the first thing that comes to mind is a list of reasons why I shouldn't. To some extent, this is self-preservation, if the reason is that I need rest or to save my money, but sometimes, it's just searching for an excuse. Yesterday, we were able to say "we've got time" and spend that time doing things we wanted and/or needed to do. As a result, I went to bed last night exhausted but happy, and I woke up this morning sleepy, but ready for the day.

I was also ready to push my pace a little bit. For the last couple weeks (Thursdays excepted), I've been consciously trying to slow myself down. I'm running an awful lot of miles these days, and I don't want to risk injury this early in my mileage build. Still, there's something about seeing those green squares on my training sheet (as opposed to yellow) that boosts my confidence tremendously, so every now and then I have to let myself gain some speed, even if I'm not officially in training yet. I kicked it up a little this morning, letting the leg muscles stretch in the cold rain of what I can only assume is the only winter we'll get this year.

My time was great (especially by comparison with my Super Bowl Monday slog), and I'm hoping it informs the rest of my week. It's not that I want to run fast all week, but I want to move successfully through my workouts with strength and confidence. Speed will come later. For now, it's all about building my miles.

After all, I've got time.

Monday's Run:
39 Degrees, Wet / Rainy / Mini-Mudslides
5.15 Miles