Freedom ain't free, Part 2

This is a follow-up of a previous post.  No need to provide a link; just scroll down a bit.

In my not-young age, I am free to run 5+ miles non-stop.  T'was not always so.  And that freedom came at a price.  It takes work, darn it.  I have to give up an hour or more, several days a week, and go out into the cold, or the heat, or the wind, or the drizzle, ... and run.   Alone.   Most of the  ... Pretty much ALL of the time, I don't want to. And too bad if I wake up to a good hair day.  After the run, the hair is toast and demands a complete do-over.

There is a saying that speaks to me nearly every morning: "If you started running when you first thought about it, you'd be done by now."  I get up from THE Most Comfortable Bed, put on my running clothes, and if I can get myself out the door within the next hour, it's a good start.  I'm a shameless procrastinator, letting the minutes slip by while I dink around on the computer.   Once I remember walking RIGHT PAST my laptop as I headed to the door.  I actually ran BEFORE going online!  ONCE!  And for me, the BEST part of a run is after it's over.

There are plenty of runners, or cyclists, or swimmers, etc., who make me look whiny and lazy.  One friend, a mommy of toddlers, runs in the early morning darkness (while I'm still in my Most Comfortable Bed) before her husband goes to work.   And sometimes she has to run, not only in the dark, but in the cold and rain.  And she does it.  As a result, she was free to experience the heady fun of running in her first relay this summer.  It's this kind of diligence, that says "marathon" in her future.  Not many are willing to pay the price for the freedom to do that.

So essentially, it means giving up something significant, for something better.  This principle is true on so many levels.  From the price of skipping some calories during the day, so as to have semi-guilt-free ice cream that evening ...To the sacrifices of our hallowed military for the freedom to live as our Founding Fathers intended.

Most freedoms don't come cheaply.  But the reward is so worth it.  And my next reward is just three short weeks away, when the BEST team of 2012 (which will include Diligent Friend mentioned above, plus Favorite Daughter, and a bunch of other cool people) returns to the ....

... drum roll .....

Hood to Coast!  AKA The Mother of ALL Relays!

YES!  And did I tell you that I'm NOT team caption??