Gutting it Out

Honestly I had not heard this phrase until I was talking to my brother the other day. I am thinking seriously about doing a half marathon with my friend J. She is a big runner, I am a novice. (I was doing the happy dance on Saturday because I completed a 5K without stopping in 32.15 minutes. Yeah me! I cut 4 minutes off my normal time.)

I was telling my bro my thoughts and my fears about the 1/2 marathon and he said, well I think you need to be able to run 7 to 9 miles and the last 3 you just need to be able to "gut out." MMMM. I was still not convinced. He chuckles and says, "yeah well, I think you can do it. You had two kids the old fashion way. That had to include a fair amount of gutting it out- Suz." (He calls me that when he wants to make a point or seriously annoy me.)

MMMMM. Well maybe. It was hard work, birthing babies, but is that the same as running 13 miles. That is like 3 hours of non-stop running. Granted both of my labors were about 6 hours, so I guess running for 3 might not be so bad.

So I had really brushed off his entire gutting out theory until tonight. L, E, & I took a walk. E rides in style and L rode her bike with training wheels. She has had some major angst about the hills. She is new to the entire biking thing. Actually she mastered the concept while we were in Germany.

So last time we did the bike walk deal, I had to hold onto her bike and try to push the stroller. (Yeah that is alot of fun.) There was alot of crying and fussing involved and me telling her repeatedly to "Trust her brakes" & me screaming "NO DO NOT DRAG YOUR FEET!"

But tonight, she took off like she was going to win the Tour de France. I mean she was peddling up the inclines and coasting into the declines. She was riding like a pro. She even fell once, into the grass, thank goodness. I was so proud of her. I asked why tonight she felt so brave. She looked at me and in all seriousness said to me, " Well, if you do not try, you will never know if you can do it or not."

WOW. My 4 year old is gutting it out. That makes me think I should give it a serious try too!