On joy

I've been ruminating for a couple of days about something that Brian said to me. I was complaining (as I have been lately) that heart rate training has taken the "fun" out of running. He told me that I should just be glad that I am healthy, able to go outside, and able to run. Essentially, that I should find joy in the very act of running because I can, no matter how slow I have to run.
As one of my new year's resolutions was to be more joyful, I've been thinking the last couple of days about how this particularly relates to sport. I think sometimes that I forget (although I am trying to be conscious) that I push running (or biking or swimming) into the realm of another thing that I have to do (I have to do laundry, I have to finish this grading, I have to run ten miles). In relegating running  into the realm of "I have to do", the joy is taken from it.  Sometimes (when I get into the have to frame of mind) I forget how much sport adds to my life. I forget to remind myself, after a long day at work, that I get to run. I treat it like another punishment, instead of the reward. I forget that the fact that just being able to go out the door on any given day and easily run ten (or more) miles is a pretty decent feat.
Therefore, I'm trying to spend this week reminding myself all of the little (and big) ways that sport makes my life better. I'm going to stop treating things that I choose to do, things that are a gift, like a chore. I'm going to keep reminding myself that there was a time, not that long ago, when I couldn't run a mile and remind myself of all the ways my life has improved (and all the journeys that I've taken) because I decided to try to remedy that. This week, I'm going to be more joyful.