#TimedMileTuesday And Beyond'

Today I forwent #TimeMiledTuesday and visited the hotel’s gym and did a little jog along Lake Pontchartrain instead.  I've felt increasing stiff the past couple weeks and needed a break from any hard efforts.  Plus my hamstring exercises from yesterday left me exceedingly sore in all the right places!

Where I jogged this morning :)

You may be wondering why I didn't just run my mile - after all, it's only a mile....  

I think it’s important to push yourself and engage in activities that make you uncomfortable.  That’s how we grow, that’s how we learn.  Most of my friends will tell you that upending all that I know to travel the country is out of character for me and yet here I am and all for the better because of it! 

With that said, I think it can be a slippery slope and counter-productive if undertaken recklessly.  I think we – as individuals and as athletes – should listen to our bodies and instincts.  I think it's important that everything we do we should inherently want to do…

Make sense?  Probably not :)

Lake Pontchartrain.

Later that day….

Driving north toward St. Louis we came within a few miles of Dyess, Arkansas where my grandma was born in 1931.  Oldest of 12, daughter of sharecroppers, she lived in horrible poverty throughout her childhood.  

She use to tell me about going to school in clothes her mother made out of old burlap sacks and then going to the fields immediately after school to pick whatever was in season.  A massive flood forced my grandma and her family to ultimately relocate to California’s heartland in the 1940’s where life wasn't much better.  

Despite all of this, my grandma – and every single one of her siblings – attended and graduated from college; when it was time for one to attend, everyone else would work to put that one through.  They all ended up taking jobs with the State and retiring years afterwards with very handsome pensions.

My grandma died in 2006, she was an amazing person whose life story not only serves to inspire but also serves as a reminder for me – or as my grandma would say, “Chase, don't judge anyone and never forget your one generation away from poor, white trash.”  Love you Grandma!

Looks like we'll be staying in Festus, Missouri tonight as we were unable to check-in to our hotel in St. Louis until tomorrow.  I'm actually writing this in the Dodge as Shannon drives!  We’re a couple hours away but its been smooth sailing so far J

#RunHappy