Judgment Day Approaches

Today I finished the last 5 mile run in the training schedule for my marathon. My dream is finally becoming reality. On Sunday, I will run 26.2 miles in the GO! St. Louis Marathon. I've put in the long long hours of running required and I will resolute this journey on April 19th.

The thing I am most excited about is that all of my friends and family will be there, and I will be a living testimony that even the unlikeliest of candidates can achieve great success with hard work, determination, and a hell of a stubborned personality.

I could have listened to all the people who told me I couldn't do it. I could have listened to all the people who thought I was insane. I could have listened to my body when it was SCREAMING at me on some of the first very long runs. I didn't. Now, I'm in the best shape of my life, I no longer have high blood pressure, my stress level is next to nothing, my resting heart rate is that of an athlete, and I have made more friends in the past 4 months than perhaps ever in my life.

The story I would have written about my life had I not begun this training program would have rung significantly different tones. I was a smoker who ate fast food regularly with high blood pressure and drank to inebriation at least every weekend. I was overweight, unhappy, and unworthy of happiness really I suppose. Then, I made a decision, I wanted to know who I was again, regain some of the direction and purpose I had when I was younger. I started on a training schedule doing the one thing I KNEW would force me to get in shape, lose weight, quit smoking, and help me pull out of my funk. I became worthy again, I was no longer a drag. I know that if there is even an ounce of water left in my cells at the end of Sunday's marathon, I will cry the happiest tears of joy that anyone has ever cried.

Thank you running, for fixing my life.

Love,
Billy the Kid


Positive thought for the day:
There are no ends, only beginnings; no goal, once achieved, brings about an end, but only an opportunity for a new beginning.

Life & The Great Schematic of Truth

The weekend: a chance to rest and reflect or cool down and think about the events of the previous week and to plan for those pending in the week to follow.

This weekend I spent quite a few hours working on my home improvements that are integral to my living situation and financial security with the help of my good friends Jegar and Dylan. I have been having some pretty severe respiratory issues due to an infection that began last weekend and has really lasted all too long at this point. I took the weekend off from my running schedule because in my estimation it will behoove me to be healthy before I take on the long distances called for by my training schedule. I feel that I am prepared for the marathon and since I am on the "weening" part of the schedule, I am going to spend the next two weeks making sure that I am fully ready for the marathon: mind, body, and spirit.

Undertaking home improvement projects really gives me a chance to take my time doing something that benefits from thinking and working at the same time. In a way, it is like running, because before the project is underway, the task may present itself as dauntingly difficult, once we begin it sheds some light on the problems, late in the project it seems as though it will never be finished and we are motivated to give up, but then with that last little push, suddenly, almost surprisingly, it is finished. It is not until we step back and look at our work that we truly appreciate the beauty of a finished product. Much like running, it is not until we reach a specified destination or goal that we truly realize the accomplishment of our hard work.

I had a long conversation with my dad today, it was good because for the first time in a long time I felt like I was talking to a friend again, instead of just a boss. I miss my family sometimes, the way things were before money complicated our lives, before my dad wore a suit to work, before I went to college for almost 100K and bought a house, when Christmas brought no expectation of extravagant gifts, and we lived in a two bedroom shoebox. I think missing the past is a part of improving the future. I have never had such a clear mind about what I am doing on this earth, and I appreciate everyone so much more now that I have been realizing that we've all got purposes, goals, aspirations, meaning, questions, problems, and endings.

Positive thought for the day:
The beauty in life is not found in some magical forest where everything sings in harmony, but in the imperfect world we live in beauty is found in the unlikeliest places, hiding so only those who are looking for it will find it, and when we see it, it is absolutely and utterly breathtaking.

i need to write something

Saturday morning at the family's house. (my family is a collection of renegades that I met throughout college and afterwards) I have been availed of internet access and intend to use it to update my blog. This week I've had excellent runs and hope to have more excellent runs this weekend, sixteen miles tomorrow -- six today. I guess most usually it would make sense for me to mention today's six then tomorrow's sixteen. I have set my next goal for fitness and will probably be writing about that one subsequent to my completion of the marathon on April 19.

Continued from Saturday: After the Sunday long run.
I finished the sixteen today, my last of the training program I am on, my legs are burning and my intensity is increasing. To quote the Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited." April 19 is approaching quickly and I am fully ready.

I'm tired and Waiting is on, also read Jackie's blog, you can find it on jackierandomthoughts.blogspot.com, she doesn't like it, but it entertains Whitney and me.

Saturday in the Park (I think it was the 21st of March)

Okay, maybe a play on Chicago lyrics is a corny way to title a post, but it is Saturday and if we can't be silly on Saturday, then there will never be time to be silly.

I ran an 8 mi. today, it felt pretty good, but I was struggling through some of it because it has been a while since I did a run over 6 mi. This week was a great week of training though, and I think I've hopped back on the horse, there were some minor setbacks for a couple of weeks with small injuries and being an emotional support for one of my good friends whose (very close) grandmother passed away. I was only getting in about half of my runs at that point, but this week I have been getting them in, despite a short bout with the flu on Wednesday.

One of the most exciting things I have found out through my training is that when the body is in shape, it has a tendency to stay in shape, this is great news because sometimes life throws curve balls and we have to be flexible enough to adjust schedules and miss various runs because some things (friends, family, work) are more important than running. The good news is, when we are able to make the time to get back to it, much ground is not lost because the body preserves our abilities that are hard-won.

I have taken my last sip of alcohol before the marathon, on Thursday night. No more until after April 19. During January, I gave up drinking also and found out that it is really not very hard and sort of rewarding because there is never a situation where I am not in control over myself.

Positive thought for the day:
The closer we get to where we are going, the less time it takes to get there (think about it, because it seems obvious but I think most people get scared at some distance that is close to their destination and turn around, this retreat makes the trip far longer than it needed to be)

Music to my ears

Today, as I contemplate my workout for the evening, I am excited about the "Strength" workout that I am about to do. Sometimes the monotony of running the same routes at the same pace telling yourself the same little motivators throughout the run becomes too much to handle. Since this week has been a bit hectic, it may be worth reading about my runs.

All weekend I had intended to run, but well intentions are not always action producers, busy with other important endeavors, including cleaning, laundry, and music, I missed both weekend runs. Monday, I had planned my first run back, but after a nap and an invite to a social event, I continued my streak of no runs.
Finally, on Tuesday I found the time to put in a run and I ran a very very strong 7 miles in the rain. The monotony was broken, running in the rain is like a religious experience (if you've never done this, I highly recommend it because it feels like being baptized in the waters of nature). Wednesday I pulled off a 6 mile run in less than 50 minutes. I am having so much fun beating my old records at this point, that I cannot imagine why I ever allowed myself to fall out of shape. I am consistently getting compliments on how slim I look (lost 20lbs since beginning the training program) and I am finally finding renewed motivation to make this marathon dream a reality.

Positive thought for the day:
If you feel like you've hit the bottom, don't worry the bounce back up gets you higher than you have ever been.

I Love Twister, Running, and Pizza

Tonight I am watching Twister with my great friend Whitney. I set a PR for my 5 mi run today, that was pretty exciting. That's all for today, I hope you've all had success in your running endeavors and other things.

Positive thought for the day:

Sometimes, we win.

It's Been A While --But Don't Worry!

Wow, life has brought some pretty extreme changes lately. I have been unable to access the internet for long enough to get on here to post anything so now that I finally have a few minutes to myself, here it is.

Training has been going extremely well, I bought a new pair of shoes on Saturday and ran 16 miles in 2h 24m on Sunday. That's a pretty decent pace and I think that I will be in excellent condition to complete the full 26.2 come April 19.

I have been working as a field laborer at Boa lately, not an ideal situation for me, but it is a job which is more than I could ask for in an economy shaping up the way ours is. There are a few good prospective projects on the horizon here and I am very intensely awaiting their arrival so that I can come back in the office and work on what I do best.

Forcing myself to find motivation is becoming my main goal in this battle. I am in good enough shape now to run 10 miles no problem, and 16 on Sunday, while difficult, didn't wear me down like my 15 mile run 2 weeks ago did. After a long day in the field on a construction site, finding the energy and drive to push myself through a 5 mile to 7 mile run is extremely difficult. I have been relatively successful though, and I know that my goal requires me to train, therefore no breaks can be afforded.

I hope everyone reading this can find motivation to push through the adversity that faces them and achieve in big ways.

Positive thought for the day:
Without the struggle of pain we wouldn't know the beauty of pleasure.