So a little more than a week ago, I posted about beginning a Gratitude Challenge. For the most part, I’ve posted my daily five items here as footnotes. (When I haven’t shared them, I’ve kept track on my own.) But today, this list is more than a footnote…and I’m grateful for more than five things.  No, I’m grateful for 6.68 things, to be exact — each of the 6.68 miles of my training run today.

When it comes to running, I’ve figured out that some days you “have it” and some days, well, you just can’t get it together. Today I didn’t have it. Zero motivation…heavy, tired legs…it was all I could do to force myself out the front door. Combine that with temps hovering near 90 and humidity to match, I was one crabby chick. Bugs flying in my face, sweat burning my eyes, blistering rawness on my heel, a shirt that didn’t fit right, boring music playlist…everything irritated me.

But when I got home, I realized that, no matter how much of a chore it was, I’d still gotten myself out the door and pushed through. Suddenly, I felt a little proud. And then I remembered some good things from the run: the big bulldog that was so grateful when I stopped to scratch her big head. A small breeze that would periodically break through the thick cloak of humidity. The little pair of twitterpated cardinals that flitted about the sidewalk. The storefront wisdom on display in a quirky downtown boutique along my route.

I guess this is the whole point of a gratitude challenge…finding the good in the crappiest situations and changing the way you look at things. Hopefully next time I have a bad run, I’ll focus on the good before I get back home.