We've all been there. We get a brand new training plan and if you are a strong type A person like me you add it to your planner, your calendar, the family board….all the places. You are excited to begin training knowing you have a goal at the end. We see our training plan as a perfectly straight incline to our ultimate goal.

,The problem is that nothing is perfect. We may plan every run down to the minute, but life always happens. One of the kids gets sick. You have to work late. You are exhausted from your day. You wake up feeling the cold you have been trying to avoid. And one day you may just feel like skipping your workout entirely, for no reason at all. It happens to everyone!

Okay, I know you are thinking right now that you know this already. Duh, Sarah, I know no one is perfect. Well, I have two points that I want you to take away from this….

First, have patience with yourself. When life happens, don't feel guilty because you didn't get a run in. If you aren't feeling well, don't feel bad if you need to take an extra rest day. When your legs feel heavy and the don't want to run, make it a nice long walk instead. Don't punish yourself because you aren't living up to the expectations that you set. (Whoo, real talk there)

Second, keep showing up when life happens. Even if you feel like you will never catch up on your training plan. Even if you feel like you are too far behind everyone else. Even if you feel like giving up. Please, just show up!