Staffer on the run...

This reminds me daily (its on my
office door) that I am responsible
for what I do and don't do.

I'm a super busy person.  I mean like really busy.  I've been asked, how do you get your runs in?  It's all about priorities and taking advantage of opportunities.  It's about understanding that no run is too short to be worth the effort and being surprised at how much energy you really can muster for a run at the end of the day when all you want to do is go to bed and sleep or veg in front of the latest episode of NCIS.  I constantly remind myself of these things, but most importantly I remind myself that I'm the only one that can set priorities for my personal life and there is no excuse for letting myself down.

Today is another one of those days where it would have been easier to chain myself to my desk during the day and shrug off my run at night.  I've got piles of work to attend to and an evening event I'm looking forward to enjoying.  Does that qualify as a good reason to just take the day off?  Nah, where there's a will, there's a way (and I really need to get ahead before this weekend because I am watching my friend's four kids by myself from Thursday night through Sunday). 

Too bad you can't tell that this brief
break wasn't to catch my breath but
to answer the latest email to come in
while I was pounding the pavement.

Well, I took thirty minutes - shorter than most of America takes for a lunch break (I don't really take one) - to get in my mental yoga and keep pushing toward that weekly mileage goal.  I'm glad I did...mother nature was very kind to Washington, DC today.  The sun beating down on my bare arms and legs was as good for morale as the physical movement.  Just to be clear though, those thirty minutes were not a break from work.  Unless its after traditional office hours, I run with the blackberry and answer my emails at every intersection....sortof killing two birds with one stone.  From my blackberry I can still manage a great deal (that's how we work over the weekends and on vacations at any rate) and not miss a beat.  It's also honestly one of the best ways to run into colleagues too...today I happened to run into at least 5 I needed to talk with anyway so I was able to knock out those conversations.  And I get the added benefit of making them feel guilty that they were sitting eating a burrito at La Loma while I was breaking a decent sweat running around the Hill.  Bonus!  Happy trails!!!

Stats -

Miles:  3.52

Time:   29:45 (average pace of 8:27 per mile)

Location:  Capitol Hill, Lincoln Park, Stanton Park

Feeling:  Happy to get out and feel my muscles, a little tight in the right hamstring at the start