Set Yourself Up For Success

As I sat down to a very quiet and very early breakfast this morning I started thinking through the 20 miles that lay ahead of me this morning and the 16 that I conquered last week. I had a route all planned out from my house this morning.  All I needed to do was lace up my shoes, step out my door, and go. I am lucky enough that I live about a mile away from a great trail and double lucky that there are plenty of other trails fairly close by.

Last Sunday I opted for the trail close to home and learned a hard lesson, I have no water sources in the winter. Every bathroom was locked up for the season and every water fountain turned off. Not a great realization for me. I run with one handheld water bottle that I refill when needed, about every 6-8 miles. At mile 8 last week I finished up my water and stopped to refill.....ahhhhhh!!!! I tried in vain to stop at every other place possible on the way home. Needless to say the last few miles were pretty tough. So this week I had planned a route that took my off trail once to a gas station where I could pee and refill my water. 

But as I ate my breakfast this morning I realized I was not being smart, I was not setting myself up for success. I grabbed the keys and drove to a trail that I knew had open bathrooms and would have plenty of opportunities to refill my water.

Why the long story? Very simple, you can do hard things if you prepare for them and set yourself up for success. Why take a route that may or may not allow me to refill my water? Why take a route that may require some strategic potty stops when I can spend a few extra minutes driving to a trail where those what-ifs don't need to be questioned?

Don't make health, fitness, training, life harder than it has to be. You can accomplish all that you set out to do without making it harder than it has to be. A few extra minutes of thought and prep can make a hard thing so much more doable and even enjoyable. Get out, accomplish, and enjoy!