1. Blisters on my feet. I have been getting more as my distances increase and though they are a little uncomfortable it reminds me of the effort that I put into the run.
2. Calluses. This goes hand in hand with the blisters. The more blisters I get the more calluses I develop and the tougher my feet become!
3. Knees. I have a bad left knee from an accident a few years back and it always seems to give me troubles. When I started running it was the most painful part of going long distances. Thankfully, the pain is gone and even when I run longer distances it feels a little weak near the end (kind of normal for knees I think) but it no longer hurts. This is a big one!
4. Body shape. Looking at myself in the mirror means so much more when you can see a difference.
5. JOY! The moment you start to love running is the moment you are on the right track. I have a long ways to go, but I crave running during the days and I no longer dread it. I may not be the most amazing runner in the world but I can still learn to love the exercise that we were born and made to do. The more I make it an important part of my life the more I learn to love it.
Everyone has their reasons to run, but we all have to have our own measures of success beyond that of numbers. There needs to be more to it than just the distance to feel like our time is well spent. Check your weight, check your heart rate, check your waste size, grab your belly fat and watch it disappear, look at your shoes and how quickly they are deteriorating, or anything that means something to you! My methods are strange but they mean something to me.
THIS IS MY MEASURE OF SUCCESS!
(Gross pic of my foot ahead! Beware!)
Make sure to find your own measure and keep heading towards it!
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