Internal Dialogue

….of a Runner

Have you ever rolled over in the morning a said to yourself, “Is it really 6:00am!?!” 

Those were my exact words (thoughts – husband was still sleeping) as I illuminated my sportswatch Saturday morning.   The issue was that I had committed to meet up with a challenging (read: freaky fast) group of women at 7:00am and there was a slight panic in my drowsy state.  I was still super tired from,… well, just being a mom for gosh sakes!

I popped up and leaned over my husband to view the glowing green digital clock on his nightstand only to have it confirm that my eyes were not failing yet.  It was 6:00am.  I plopped back down on my pillow.  That is when the little angels of internal dialogue started talking to eachother.

“Oh, sleep in.  You can go to church tonight and then have tomorrow morning free to do your own long slow distance run,” was the reasonable sounding first voice in my head.

“Come On! Get your booty (my 4 year old’s endearing tag) out of bed because you will probably dog the run if you wait and do it on your own tomorrow,” the second voice drilled in my head.

“If you get up now you won’t have time to eat your oatmeal because you’re starting late.  You know you need your oatmeal to get things started.  Oh! Remember, you had so many tomatoes last night and all that acid is making your stomach kind of grumbly,” spoke the first voice.

“You can grab an energy bar and coffee.  You will be fine.  Get it over with and you’ll have the rest of the weekend free.  Plus, if you don’t train fast you won’t race fast.  GO!”

That was it.  I squashed the psycho-banter and got my running clothes on while the coffee brewed.  I grabbed my water belt that I use for long runs.  With coffee and a my Larabar (I prefer the Cherry flavor) in hand I was off to the trail head.  I won!

As I drove in my car down the road I wondered, “Do other people ever have ping pong matches that go on inside their heads before an event?  Or, am I the only nut I know?”