Get-to's rather than have-to's

Today, I was at Metta Wellness for a post-20in24 massage. This is my third time there and every moment has been worth it. Next month, Sherry gets to go. I hope she enjoys the result of her massage as much as I have felt better after mine.

While I was in the waiting area, I picked up a yoga magazine and there was a lot about gratitude in the first few pages. One person wrote about how much more gratitude she felt and how much better she felt if she thought of her "have-to's" as "get-to's".

I had a moment like that earlier this week. Rarely do I feel that a running workout is a "have to". I enjoy them too much to think of them that way. However, yesterday's hill workout in the heat could have been described as a have to (I still enjoyed it) and even Monday's one mile could have been thought of as a "have to" when I left home. I had run 25.28 miles in three 8.46 mile loops around Fairmount Park in Philadelphia from Saturday mid-morning to Sunday's pre-dawn hours. Drove home Sunday and should have rested more than I did, but really wanted to get back to my Back on My Feet team at Christopher's Place. I sort of felt an obligation after missing three weeks, and I wanted to share stories about the weekend.

When we started, I chose to do one mile. Rarely do I choose to do the minimum. However, my legs were still a bit stiff from the weekend. So, I ran the uphill part of the mile and then went down Cathedral St with a small group. When we were still going down Cathedral, I saw someone leave one of the resident runners and take off with one of the longer-running groups. The resident runner kept going because he wanted to run a mile without stopping. Since I feel that no one in Back on My Feet should ever run alone, even with my stiff legs, I made it a point to catch up to Kani. When all was said and done, he thanked me for coming to run with him and was so happy that he had run the whole thing without stopping.

My "have to" (of meeting up with my team) really had become a "get to" (how often does our running truly help and inspire someone else?). It's too bad every day isn't as easy to see that way. In fact, just about about every day is. Just not as easy to see.