Hey all!  Today’s motivation Monday was sparked by a Facebook comment. I ran a race yesterday. I know you’re shocked, right?  I’ve been feeling way under the weather and I wasn’t expecting much.  The one thing I was counting on that it would be a horrible experience.  I was still sleeping 20 minutes before the start of the race. Something happened after the race that made me WANT to make this video.

After I finished the race I posted this:

I finished and I didn’t do horrible either. Ran the half in 2:18 and I was sick. Nice way to sweat out a fever! Thanks for all the helpful advice! #fitfluential #nuunlife #headsweats #instarunners #halfmarathon #running #runhappy

A photo posted by Angela Gillis (@angelabeatfat) on Nov 15, 2015 at 7:17am PST

And then I got this as a comment:

Wait. Just liked this. What does horrible mean. If I finish in 6 hours I still finished. I have mad respect for you but please refrain from judgements on what horrible times are.

I’m not a fast runner and some of these last marathons I’ve done, I’ve been lucky to finish them. I’m a completion runner. I do have personal goals that I set for myself, based on myself but never in relation to other people. Do I wish I could run super super fast and BQ? Yes! But I know a lot of things would have to chance to get me to that point and for me it’s just not worth it. I’m enjoying the experience right now.

That’s why I was a bit miffed when I got the comment. LIKE I SAID IN THE VIDEO, THERE IS NO BAD BLOOD HERE. I can see where the commenter was coming from, but I just wanted to let you know how I felt about the situation.

Here was my response:

The horrible part wasn’t about the time, it was about the experience. Last year I ran a horrible marine corps marathon bc I was sick. The other day I posted about being a 4:50 – 6:00 marathoner and it’s about finishing and doing your best. Today when I stepped up I was expecting a snotty, can’t breathe mess and it didn’t turn out that way.

Yesterday I was just glad to finish the race in one piece. I’ll do more of a recap later. Today it’s about doing the best for yourself. Do the best that you can every day and that’s all that should matter. Yes, your best may fall short of your personal best a lot but that doesn’t mean you didn’t try or you shouldn’t be proud of yourself. Every day is a learning experince but most importantly, every day is just a day. Be the best that you can be every day and all will work out just fine.