January 23, 2012: #3

January 23, 1991: Seinfeld debuts on NBC-TV;

January 23, 1997: Madeline Albright, America’s first female Secretary of State, was sworn in on this day;

January 23, 2004: "Captain Kangaroo," died at age 76;

January 23, 2010: I decided I was going to run again;

January 23, 2011: I decided I was going to be a Runner; and

January 23, 2012: I decided I will qualify for Boston this year. 

January 23, 2010 and January 23, 2011 were cold and dusted with the first snow of the month; January 23, 2012 was no different as I stared out at it in the early morning hours of my first workout of the day: five miles on the treadmill, tempo.  In the locker room and on the way to the gym in the rain, I dreaded the moment when my sweatpants came off and I climbed onto this running machine.  I wanted my bed, coffee and slippers; a hot shower that didn’t necessitate flip flops; an actual walk with my dog; warmer clothes; and a gradual wakeup well beyond 4:30AM.  I looked in the mirror at the circles under my eyes, briefly reflected on the possibility that I’d (once again) forgotten underwear and realized that I was, sadly, out of shampoo, all before finally making eye contact with myself. 

There I was, for whatever reason, staring at myself in the gym mirror at 5:30AM on a rainy Monday morning with no one else around – wondering out loud, “do I have what it takes to commit to this?”  No one answered.  But, I did manage to untangle my earbuds sans tantrum, jump on a treadmill and jump right into 9 and 8 minute miles without looking back (too much) and this seems to be half the battle with my morning workouts. 

Steadiness came on like the blanket I’d ripped off an hour prior and carried me through to the end of this tiny but powerful run #1.  Peppered by U2 and Zac Brown, the miles all felt the same: controlled and tenacious.  In mile 5, fixated on my ponytail swinging back and forth at the exact moment my feet fell, I heard Zac Brown scream out “You keep your heart above your head and your eyes wide open - So this world can't find a way to leave you cold,” and thought “exactly.”  With those five miles behind me and a crazy nighttime workout ahead of me [8 x 3 Minutes at Race Pace/30 Seconds Max Pushups], the outlook on January 23, 2012, like the weather, is identical to years past:  ready for the next day and the next hurdle.