Everything Counts.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Little things make a difference and every bit helps.

Case in point, me.

Today at noon, I have four out-of-state visitors arriving for a Marine Corps Boot Camp Graduation ceremony. They will be staying at Casa John and Ric through the weekend. Since Ric and I have been entertaining or otherwise busy for weeks, the house still needed to be cleaned from top to bottom. So we did that last night and finally finished at nearly midnight.

As I was cleaning the bedroom and putting away laundry, I decided to pack up my gym bag with today's work clothes. I also laid out my running gear, iPod, and water bottle. I was ready.

This morning, though, when the alarm went off at 6am, I was not ready. I was still exhausted and did not want to get out of bed at all. I definitely didn't want to go running. So, I made myself a deal. I still had to get out of bed, but I would finish cleaning my desk instead of going to the gym.

As I finished cleaning, though, I realized that my work clothes were packed in my gym bag already. That means, in order to put them on, I would have to open my bag and drag everything out. Ignoring the bag was one thing, but unpacking it was admitting defeat. I decided to go to the gym.

But, again, life interfered. I still needed to wash my car and fill it up with gas before my guests could borrow it, and it was already after 7am. What to do, what to do? Simple. I hopped in the car, drove through a quickie car wash, filled the tank up, and sped off to the gym. I wouldn't have time to run a full 5k, but I thought I could still get a couple of miles in.

And that's the whole point of this blog. Do what you can, when you can, and trust that everything counts on your way to health and fitness.

For me, knowing I only had time for two miles motivated me to run faster than I normally would. I managed to knock out two sub-nine minute miles, and that's a speed record for me. I'm normally a 10-minute miler over any distance, so two 8:52 min miles feel great.

I realize as I write this that I am speaking to three very different audiences. People faster than I am think my pace is very slow, people much slower than I am dream of running as fast as I do, and people that share my pace understand the difference in running more than a minute faster each mile.

Ultimately, though, it isn't about what other people think of my pace. It's about me honoring the commitment I made to myself to be active and make healthy decisions. And today, that meant adjusting a bit for life's demands while still taking care of myself.

Everything counts, indeed. Because I ran, I feel great this morning and am already making healthy eating choices. Instead of tossing the whole day away ("missed my run, might as well splurge today and get back on track tomorrow!"), the two miles will also help motivate me to eat well all day... and to get back out there tomorrow.

Oh, and to answer the question on everyone's mind, yes, I am having great post-workout hair today!

Have a great day, friends!

Make or Break Moments.

As moments go, they weren't all that significant. They didn't change the world or command attention from the masses. But they mattered to me.

The first moment happened last night about 10:30pm, when I found myself staring at my just-emptied gym bag. It was calling to me, telling me to pack it up for the next day's workout. "Meh," I thought. "I've just run two days in a row, and a good rule to follow is 2 On, 1, Off. So no work out for me."

But in that moment, I knew it was the wrong decision. So I chose to pack my bag for the next day.

The next moment came this morning at 6:10am, when the alarm went off. I thought, "my legs are still sore from the last two days of running, so I should probably take the day off." But I knew that was just an excuse to avoid getting out of bed. I knew I needed to get up. "Besides," I thought, "my work clothes are already in my gym bag, and I'd have to unpack it to get dressed for work. Might as well get up and go to the gym."

So I did. I got up. And I went to the gym.

The next moment came when I was on the treadmill. I had decided on a 5K loop with the intention of pushing myself beyond my normal 10 minute per mile pace. "I can do more than that today," I thought. So I cranked the speed up so I was running right around 9:15 per mile. But by the time I got to the second mile, I felt as if I was done. "You've pushed it enough, so stop at two miles and call it a day."

At that moment, though, I knew I had a choice to make. I could either quit early and feel like a loser all day long, or I could tough it out and feel like a rock star all day long. So I cranked the speed up another notch and went for it all.

And I finished the 5k loop in 28:20. That means I hit 9:08 minute miles. And that is the fastest I have run in months.

These moments may not mean anything to the rest of the world, and that's fine. They matter to me. And they make a difference. Seriously, these make or break moments can change everything. Because I packed my bag, I made it harder to sleep in the next morning. Because I got up and went to the gym, it was harder to cut my planned workout short. And because I stayed the course and ran the full distance, I'm feeling great and motivated to get right back after it tomorrow.

And most importantly, because I worked out today and decided to take a selfie at the gym, I discovered I was having total rock star hair. See?

So listen to your heart and not your head. You know how to respond in those moments. So go for it!