I Coulda, but I Didn'ta

It seems like I'm posting the same type of a blog whenever I return from a trip. It goes something like this:

Man, I've got to figure out how to get my runs in when I'm out of town. I fell off the wagon again and it's so hard to get back on now that I'm back home. Not feeling great because of all of the missed workouts. Blah, excuse, blah, blah, excuse. You guys have any tips for me?

I think I have figured out what's happening...I'm chalked full of excuses when I'm away from the nest. It sucks. As I sit here and reflect on this most recent trip, I can point to at least a handful of times each day that I had at least 30 minutes to spare to get a workout in. On the days that it just didn't seem like it was possible, I could have gotten up 30 minutes early. When it comes down to it, life is choices. I choose not to work out while I was in Dallas. There was nothing physically wrong with me while I was away, it was all mental, and it was all on me.

So now as I sit here, I'm left with regret for my choices these past few days, but I'm thankful that I still have the ability to get back on the horse. I made sure to ride him early this morning as I took a walk in the neighborhood before I even gave myself a chance to fully wake up. I got on him again when I laced up my running shoes and went for a run/walk this afternoon. I won't lie to you, it stunk. I coughed so hard during the run that I was pretty sure that my brain was about to fly through my forehead. It was that kind of cough that made my shut my eyes and whence in pain mid-cough. What a great reminder for my "sins" of the past! :) (I honestly couldn't wait for the run to be over, but the good news is that I made it and wasn't too far off of my normal pace.)

So what's my point? My point is, I coulda, but I didn'ta. I'd love to sit here and blame CF. Blame my job. Blame a lack of time. Blame my physical state. Blame my mental state. Blame the weather. Blame my feelings. Blame this. Blame that. There's only one thing to blame here and that's the person who made the choice not to exercise when he was away on a trip. And that person would be ME.

So what's next? Do I beat myself up? Do I throw a pity party? Do I just throw in the towel and say that I can't hack it? Of course not! I wake up tomorrow and I get back on the horse that I rode today. I know tomorrow is going to be busy, but I don't care. I need to show me who's boss. It's not the guy who will put a TV show before working out, but will put working out before almost anything in this world because he's convinced that's the key to staying here a while. It's the guy who's going to wake up at a ridiculously early hour because he knows that will give him the best chance to get his workout in. It's the guy who just realized what he committed to...and with that, the guy who better get to bed!