The Long Haul

Tonight was a killer, no two ways about it.  Ninety-four degrees, and humid.  And this time, even though we waited for the sun to go down, and walked on the trail, there was no relief to be found there.  And it wasn’t just us; everyone was walking slower tonight.  Banks needed to stop frequently for water, and so did I.

What definitely did not help was that today was Cinco de Mayo (well, Cuatro de Mayo, but tomorrow’s Saturday), and no government office lets that one go by without a potluck.  So, a heavy lunch (enchilada casserole, anyone?), a bloated stomach, no will whatsoever to walk five miles….

The days when I eat crap are probably the hardest.  In the old days, I would do what everyone else does – figure I’ve blown it, why bother with the exercise part, I’ll just wait til tomorrow and start then.  Or Monday.  Or the first of the month, if it was anywhere in sight.

But I don’t have the luxury of doing that now, and on these walks, it’s hard to fight the feeling that you’re merely treading water, not really accomplishing anything.  But usually about 2.5 miles in, I remember that I’m in it for the long haul.  That I’ll have good days and bad days, productive days and meh days, but what I need to do is…..just keep showing up. Don’t have to be amazing, don’t have to break any records, just have to pull my tired butt off the couch and show up. And that’s what Banks and I did tonight.