No Risk No Reward

I don’t know where this weekend went, all I know is that I enjoyed it.

Who doesn’t enjoy an early morning Saturday long run followed by sunshine and pizza?

Brick Oven pizza at Salvatore’s; a pizza so large that I could barely capture a photo of our entire pie.  At least I remembered to take a picture.

My half was topped with roasted red peppers, onions, mushrooms, artichokes and jalapeno peppers.

The pepperoni on the other half of the pie did not tempt me although it looked divine.

Now, before I discuss my long run from Saturday, please let me know if this is a normal occurence at a Whole Foods near you:

That would be a dog, on the table, at Whole Foods, sharing lunch from the Whole Foods food bar box with his owners. 

I apologize for not capturing a photo of the dog sharing coffee with his owner. But trust me, it happened.

Anyway, on to my long run.

I normally run at an easy pace on Saturdays but decided to push myself out of my Saturday comfort zone.

I am guilty of running a lot of my miles at a comfortable pace. There are days where I know I can go faster but choose to remain in my “safe place”.

Saturday I asked myself why. Why not push my limits a bit, get a little uncomfortable?

I noticed the difference in my speed right away, yet it felt fine and I was quite capable of keeping the pace consistently throughout the run.

I wasn’t even uncomfortable for long, it began to just feel natural.

Aren’t we all guilty of staying within our comfort zone in fear of..of…of…what? What are we all so afraid of?

Don’t get me wrong – there are times when slow and steady are crucial. But there comes a point where you need to pick up your pace and break out of your safe zone to see what can happen.

If you don’t test your waters and push your limits, you may never know what you are missing out on.

Getting out of your comfort zone can create and open up so many doors and present you with wonderful opportunities.

Not to mention that running faster gets the miles done quicker, burns a few extra calories in the process and puts you at the finish line ahead of schedule.

While I contemplated all of this during my speedy 90 minute run, I decided that all finish lines should include chocolate fudge cake.

That would be the Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake from The Cheesecake Factory. I usually order the same ol’ Mud Pie but all this talking of breaking out of comfort zones has inspired me to try a slice of this cake ASAP.

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I NEED TO KNOW:

How was your weekend?

How many miles did you run?

Are you guilty of running at a comfortable pace?

How often do you push your limits and get uncomfortable?

Favorite cake from The Cheesecake Factory? I love the blackout cake but I also enjoy a nice slice of Linda’s Fudge Cake.

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