Wonder what life would be like…

if I didn’t spend as much time as I do on running and skiing. This week has been really nice — taking the first half of the week off and then running whenever I felt like it/however far I felt like during the 2nd half. It’s great! I actually have time to run errands and clean the house. By the end of this week I might actually have a good jump start on the ever-growing to-do list on my kitchen door. How exciting.

I wondered today how different my life would be if I didn’t have running and skiing. Or even if I didn’t train 1/2 as often as I do. I’d probably have one of the best looking lawns on the block. And probably the world’s best vegetable garden in my backyard. Wouldn’t that be great? I could start building something, or start a large scale project on the house. Heck, I don’t even need to do something large-scale: I’d take pride in just having a decent looking house at the end of the week. I can never seem to keep up during the week. I’d probably sign up to volunteer more often: perhaps at church, maybe at a camp, maybe coaching young kids. That might be sort of fun!

Is all the time I pour into running worth it? Especially when you put so many other things on the back burner? I think so. A lot of other people think I’m crazy, but it’s really fulfilling for me. It’s fun to see where your limits are. It’s also fun once you’re finally in shape: nothing beats that “I’m strong/fit/in shape” feeling during a run or a race. Taking this week easy has helped me to re-realize all of this.

Although… it would be really fun to have a wonderful vegetable garden…