Tuesdays With Tom: Peaks and Valleys

tuesdays-with-tom-09-13-16I took a “Tuesdays With Tom” off last week. Not because I didn’t run, but because last Tuesday evening, the temperature was around 90 degrees with high humidity. I had let my dog out a few times that day, and came back sweating. Afraid it could have been my last “Tuesdays With Tom,” I decided that it was going to be “Tuesdays With Treadmill.”

Last week was a tale of two runs, as Tuesday’s trek on the treadmill was one of the more easier runs I had experienced. After all, I was in an air-conditioned environment and setting my own pace on the treadmill. I don’t feel like I got the best run in I could, but still, I thought, it was better than nothing.

The following run I was introduced to a new concept called a “hill.” I have seen and experienced these hills before but can’t remember the last time I came face-to-face with one 20 minutes into a run. Needless to say, it was a tough encounter, and quickly the last ten minutes of my run became one of the more mentally and physically challenging ones I had experienced.

I had been talking to Tom off and on throughout the week, and before this Tuesday’s run he asked me about how last week’s run went.

I, unapologetically, told him how I had faced a hill and how badly it kicked my butt.

He gave me some advice after that you could really apply to life. While hills suck in the beginning, they ultimately make you better in whatever it is you’re trying to become.

“They’ll help you in the long run,” Tom told me. “I know if I keep attacking them that it will help me in the long run.”

Yesterday’s run was pretty straight forward. The usual crew and some new additions were there last night. The weather was a little hot, but the Chesterton Bike Trail off Jackson St., where we meet at 6:00 P.M. on Tuesdays (shameless plug), provides enough shade to keep you from overheating during your runs,and the relative flat landscape of the trail makes it easy enough to get in a good run at any level you are at.

The point is, yesterday was a good run thanks to my friends and the trail; conquering a hill last week had nothing to do with it.

But there will come a time, maybe during my first 5K, or some day when I am taking on a new trail somewhere, when I will run into adversity like I did with that hill. Which is why it’s important to remember the time a hill kicked your butt, and more important to remember you finished your run.

It’s important to remember the wins, they’ll serve as a good reminder when your body tries to tell you you’ll lose.