If my husband and I were on "The Newlywed Game," and Bob Eubanks asked him to name my favorite snack, he wouldn't skip a beat, "Ice cream," he'd say. And he'd be right.
If something happened to me someday, or if someday someone tells me that for whatever reason I have to give up ice cream, I'm seriously not sure if I could last. I'd truly be lost in a world without ice cream. I love it that much. Ice cream of all kinds, from the plain to the ridiculous, I love it all. It's true. I run for ice cream.
There's a Lululemon ad in this month's "Runner's World" that simply has a pink-clad arm raised high, clutching a large cone of shiny, drippy, mint chocolate chip ice cream (one of my favorites, to be sure). At the bottom of the page, in very small type it says, "I run for ice cream. There, I said it." I had to look twice to make sure they didn't surreptitiously take a picture of me, because, yes. I do. I run for ice cream. And maybe a few other things as well...
Sure, I run for basic health reasons. I run to reduce my stress. I run to give me energy, and I certainly run to help keep off all the weight I've lost. I run to keep it all in balance, and I run to be a better mom. I run to be a better wife. I run to be a better me. But, if I'm really honest with myself, I really run so I can have all these things and do all these things and still get to eat my ice cream. It's seriously that important to me. I have to have a little every day. So yeah, I run to feed my monkey and still fit into all the cute clothes that weight loss has "forced" me to buy.
Many folks run with a mantra. Mine is simply this: "No day is complete without a tasty frozen treat." Now, usually that's a Skinny Cow sandwich or maybe a small low-fat soft serve cone from Micky-D's. I'm not picky, but I am usually choosy, and I do try to make wise ones. But not always. Sometimes special effort deserves a special reward.
I will not lie and say that the Womens' Half Marathon was easy. In fact, I actually twisted my foot somehow somewhere on the course and had to lay off running pretty much until today. My thighs hurt so much I had difficulty walking down stairs for a good three days after the race, and my right knee (which bothers me off and on anyway) was particulary angry about the effort, and kind of still is.Yeah, it was hard, and I was tired, but I was so so glad I did it. I put it all out there. I ran that race the best I could. I hung in there as so many others started to walk and drop back. Having never done anything like this before, I finished 501st out of 3060 women. It was overwhelming. It was exhilarating. It was exhausting, and I can't wait to do it again.
I proved to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to. And if I can do it, anyone can. That sounds trite, of course, but it's really true. The human mind and the human body are infinitely powerful. If you want it bad enough, there's no end to what you can achieve.
And having a little incentive doesn't hurt, either.
When I finished the Womens' Half Marathon, I didn't really want any of the dozens of cookies they had piled high in their "cookie cafe." I scarfed down an apple (because I was starving), but I passed on the mountains of potato chips they had there for the taking. No, no. Forget that stuff, I had my sights on something better. Unbeknownst to my husband, as I crossed the finish line, I was already plotting our drive home, planning when and where to tell him to make a quick detour off I-40 through the Dairy Queen drive through in Brownsville. I figured he wouldn't mind.
I've stopped at this DQ too many times to count on my many road trips to Nashvegas, but none was more enjoyable than this. That Chocolate Covered Strawberry Waffle Bowl Sundae was the best treat I ever earned. I'm still not sure which was the best reward, the big honking medal or the big honking sundae. I guess I'll just have to run another 1/2 soon to help myself figure it out.
Until we read again, Friends...keep trying for what you're trying for!
TTYL,
Ali
