I have a picture on my refrigerator that I cut out of a magazine a couple years ago. It grows in importance in grayer, colder times of year. It's of a woman athlete in profile.

 

She stands barefoot, on her tiptoes in lycra shorts and top with hands clasped in front of her. She is the picture of an athlete in prime physical condition.

She is my inspiration.

There are no labels on the clothes she's wearing, there is no slogan on the page where she stands. She is alone, staring intently into the distance, focused.

We call her "runner girl" but she may be a a rower, a cyclist, a triathlete, a swimmer or a gymnast, for all I know. To me she represents health, nutrition, physicality, beauty and athleticism.

She also represents the rewards that come from staying active, fighting lethargy and boredom, and from fighting the gravitational pull to the goodies inside the box on which she hangs by a magnet.

Runner girl is my potential.

When I stay commited to a plan for achieving whatever goal I set for myself athletically, I start to take on her focus, her intensity and her muscular build. I get excited about the opportunities for improvement in technique and I don't feel hassled by the routine that develops because the rewards are abundant.

Breathing deeper, sleeping better, more and more energy, less stress, greater discipline in other areas of my life - It's like a snowball of goodness rolling through my day to day existence and it all starts with a picture.

Or rather it all continues when I pay attention to the picture and remember the snowball of goodness.

A new season is about to arrive. New goals, renewed goals, perhaps the first goal you have ever set for yourself as an athlete - the possibility of it all lays before us as February turns to March, as the snow gives way to the mud and as winter wools give way to thoughts of lycra and spandex and inspiration.

Here's to the runner girl (or guy) in each of us.

Thanks for reading!