it seems like we have it drilled into us that excuses are evil and should not be uttered under any circumstance. you set your goals for the year and then, NO EXCUSES! every day, every night, toeing the line.

last week on one of my four flights, i read something about excuses that i found interesting. i can't remember which magazine i read it in though (read so many, they all start to blur). possibly runner's w0rld?

anyway, the author used excuses as a constructive vehicle. along with your goals for the upcoming year, go ahead and take out a piece of paper and list out the top ten excuses that you typically grasp on to when things aren't running smoothly.

don't think too much about how you word them and so forth, just let them flow out of you. its liberating!

ok, now look over your list of excuses and think about how you can attack them, and turn them into positives. i think writing the excuses helps you to be honest about why you might let certain areas of your life wallow in a state mediocrity.

maybe you will realize you can do something about them?

i can't find my original list that i wrote out on the plane. this is my best re-creation of my most used excuses of 2006:

1. i'm too tired
2. its too cold outside
3. i don't feel like cooking
4. i'm just too hungry, I NEED CANDY! (hehe)
5. my workout clothes are all dirty/stinky
6. i am/was traveling
7. everybody else in my group is eating out at xzy unhealthy restaurant for lunch
8. i haven't seen my gf all week and now that she's here i'm going to go workout for 2 hours?
9. it's too late at night
10. i'm too tired

there you have it! embrace your excuses and then proceed to dismantle them as you see fit. i think its obvious that i can do something about all of these.

i had to solve #8 real quick or i'd end up not running every weekend. solution: just get up early on saturday mornings and go pound out that long run while she's sleeping! seems like a simple solution now, but i struggled with it for a while. i mean, who wants to get up early on saturday when they had to wake up early all summer to run? i'll tell you who: someone who wants to build their running base in the winter, improve '07, and still see the gf.

i just finished up a 5.2 mile run outside in 20F weather. it was a little chilly. my knee/legs seem a little sore; i ran about 13 on saturday after only running 4.5 during the week (travel! ha ha).

one of my excuses for not running too long outside during the winter was: the city turns off the water pumps/fountains around The Lakes during the winter. i don't want to wear a camelbak, just not comfortable with it. i sucked it up and bought a water bottle that is designed to be carried. i carried it around the lakes for 2 hours on my run this weekend. it wasn't too bad. i was even able to have some clif bloks.

well, i better get to bed now...i'm tired and it's too late at night! ha ha.