Sometimes, the miles will be hard. You won’t want to run, you’ll be emotionally drained, the hills will be treacherous and your muscles will be sore. Your heart won’t be into it, you’ll think about turning back before you leave, after the first mile, throughout the entire course. This is when it’s most important to run. Sometimes you’ll psych yourself our, or you’ll start too fast, you’ll fall off your desired mile pace after the first mile and think about cutting the entire run, think it’s a waste because you’ve fallen off time. It’s never a waste. A wise friend of mine told me that it’s not about how fast you go, but the fact that you’re going, that you persevere: “whoever runs most, that’s who’s going to win”. Sometimes running is hard, but hardship is a part of life; you don’t quite life because you’re going through hardship and the same is true of running. Keep running, keep pushing through. The pain of a hard run will build your muscles for an easier run in the future. Slow down if you need to, but never stop. What matters isn’t how fast you run, it’s that you never give up, that you remember, even through the hardships, that you love this sport, your love these runs, that each run, however humid or frigid or lethargic or painful in the moment is a blessing. You fell in love with running for a reason, don’t let the bad days cause you to forget that. You fell in love with running, remember that and persevere.