This morning I watched TV while I ran on the treadmill. We went to the gym later than we did last week and the tiny lady who’s my age wasn’t there – so I watched TV. After the hair product infomercial went off, a televangelist with a message just for me came on. “Conquer your enemies.”

I have no idea what the REAL message from the televangelist was, but I had plenty of time to make up one myself. What are MY enemies and how do I conquer them? What is holding me back on my journey to the marathon? I came up with a pretty lengthy list:

1. Pride: I am having such a hard time with my program partly because I feel I’ve taken a step back. I have already run a half marathon. Why am I hobbling through a 6 mile run this morning? I feel kinda embarrassed that I can’t just ‘gut it out’ and go looooooooong. I’ve done it before… (Okay – I know: that’s part of the reason I’m injured.)

2. Envy: I kept looking over at my husband’s treadmill as he inched further and further away from me. At my 1 mile, he’d run a mile and half. When I hit 4 miles, he was almost to 5. He’d lapped me FOUR times. I wish I could run as fast as him.

3. Laziness: I fight this monster every morning. I am not a morning person no matter how many times I get out of the bed pre-dawn to run. I would MUCH rather lie there until 8 or 9 and mosey downstairs and have some coffee and a bowl of cereal. Sometimes I wonder if my mind makes things hurt just enough to give me an excuse for not running.

4. Doubt: Hey – I can do this, right? uh… I’m not always so sure. This morning, 6 miles felt like a MILLION miles. How in the world am I going to run over FOUR TIMES THIS MUCH in December?

5. Greed: I love to eat. Do I need to say more?

So…. I’m not beating myself up or anything. I think when you confront the things that could keep you back, you are more prepared to overcome them.

Well, you know what my enemies are. How do I conquer them? Pray for strength and courage. Don’t listen to stupid or unhappy people. Psych myself out. That works more for my husband than it does for me, but I keep trying. Just keep plugging away daily. I get overwhelmed when I think about what I’m going to do in December, so I’ll just think about what I need to do this week.

And finally, I’ll keep writing about it. This helps me stay focused.

I forgot – one more thing: no more references to boobies or girlies. My daughter chastised me for doing something that I didn’t let my children do. I will be using proper names for body parts from now on. Parents are always teaching so I better set a good example!

I can surely do this!

Have a great week, yall 🙂