I am currently on the bus heading to the state track meet with out high school track team. Unlike last year when we made this trip with thoughts of a potential team title, this year we have a mix of veterans and youngsters.

Next weekend is the NCAA Division 2 National Championship meet. It is a mere 40 miles from home and at least one former athlete will be competing.

As I have mentioned previously, I enjoy track and field. But big time track and field is even better than normal track and field.

May 14th 2012 marks the 500th consecutive day I have run at least a mile.

Over the last 500 days I have written about the lessons I have learned and relearned. I have talked about the trials, challenges, and successes along the way. I have been philosophical and (hopefully) practical. I have boasted and celebrated.

Today I will share my secret: Running everyday is important to me.

Important enough that I have done whatever has been necessary to make it happen for 500 days.

"Stay tall. Stay tall."

"Don't cross the mid-line."

The usual "pick it up" or "run faster" comments made by spectators inspire ignorance at best and disdain at worst. They are almost always accompanied by thoughts along the lines of, "if it's so slow why don't you get out here and do it" or, "you don't think that occurred to me?"

However, constructive comments made while running aren't so quick to be ignored.

It is time.

Whether you are a casual runner, someone who enjoys joining friends for a race or two a year, or looking to run a PR or course best over the summer, the time to get to work is here.

The weather has been gorgeous for weeks.

Sunlight has extended the training day by hours.

Racing calendars are full with options.

Running clubs and groups are in full swing.

No more excuses. No more fooling ourselves about how hard we have been working. No more "I'll start when..."

Today is the day you get out the door and start. Tomorrow is the day to do a little more.

A week ago the Boston Marathon went off in very un-marathon friendly conditions. In the words of one of my friends who ran the race, "it was not only as brutal as it sounded on the news, it was worse. 87 was the official temperature, but out on the pavement without any shade, it felt worse."

Last weekend I had another friend run a 12k trail race she had been training pretty diligently for for months. The week of the race she got sick to the point she stayed home from work and wondered if she could run the race.

So, you are dealing with an injury. You are not alone. According to some estimates over 50% of all runners deal with an injury each year.

I feel fortunate that only recently have I had to deal with my first real injury.

Doing so gave me a new perspective on rehabilitation.

Before the injury my running was going great. My mileage was up, I was running fast, I felt strong.

The reality of distance running is that it is largely a solitary endeavor. Whether we train alone, in groups, or with a team, when it comes time to put it all on the line for a race there is only one person who can control how things go: you.

Any distance runner who has reached the point of racing adolescence can tell you that running and racing are mental activities. This is true in too many different ways to even try to list them here.

Put simply, most often the single biggest limiting factor in our running performance is our brains.

I know, I know. You have been waiting with baited breath for over a week for a new blog post. Between coaching, working, and reading the Song of Ice and Fire series I just haven't had time to sit down and get a post put together.

But, today is a special day.

Today is the day my sister turns 27!

Keri and I had all the usual brother-sister issues growing up. But, somewhere around the time I finished high school we started to become very close friends. Primarily we bonded over baseball and running.

I have never been so happy to run twenty two minutes as I was yesterday.

Last week sucked for running. I sprained my ankle and had been limited to very light, awkward, and sometimes painful running for a week. When I mentioned a pain on the outside of my foot to my PT she mentioned a possible metatarsal fracture. Needless to say that didn't make things better.

Everybody gets knocked down. How quick are you gonna get up?

Accidents happen. Even the best of us.

Sooner or later every one of us will be walking down the bleachers while enjoying a beautiful day at a track meet when WHAM, one wrong step and we find ourselves falling down multiple steps, scraping our knee and shin, and spraining our ankle.