Keep your head up, ohh ohh

As we drift into the fall weather of October, this means I’m three days away from beginning my run from El Paso, Texas to San Diego, California. Since the day I was asked to go on this run, I began my training. I understood that if I wanted to succeed and reach this goal I would have to put in the work. For the next six short months I ran every other day no matter what. Every morning, even if I was exhausted, sick, or sore, I ran. After accumulating over 100 hours of running or 500 miles ran within those six months, I can still admit that I’m a bit frightened of the challenge that stands before me.
 
My girlfriend never enjoyed the idea about me going on this long-distance run. Since the beginning, she worried about me getting hurt. I understand her worries, so I try not to bring up the subject often.
 
Yesterday, however, my girlfriend and I spent the whole day together. Late in the afternoon we went for a jog and I decided to share my doubts concerning the run. To my surprise she said, “What did I just tell you? Look up before you hurt yourself.” Completely thrown off by her words, I quickly lifted my gaze and corrected my posture.
 
I have a habit of looking down while I run. I look at the ground when I become fatigue but doing this ultimately hurts my spine and neck. As soon as she said that, I was reminded about the push-ups I did earlier that day as well. She stated the same thing while I did those because I let my head down after the first five.
 
Even though that was all she said, I still found the inspiration I needed. After our jog I had an urge to write about my experience with my girlfriend’s stern words and voice. I enjoy sharing my thoughts, but most of all I believe that when I write them out, that is when I truly practice what I preach.
 
Sometimes, when life becomes tough, we tend to “look down” or focus on the negatives. Instead we should be focusing on a positive mindset no matter how fatigue or frustrated we are. “Never think about why you can’t do something. Think about how you can.” Your mind is a powerful thing and I wanted to remind everyone of this. On the long distance run I plan to keep my head up and think about feeling the water off the coast of California.