164 Days to Go - Making Change

"Change in all things is sweet."
     -Aristotle

   












Have you ever thought about the strange paradox of how change is inevitable and yet in some areas it seems really hard to change?  Change is happening all around us all the time.  If you want the philosophy behind Aritstotle's viewpoint you can go check out Physics and Metaphysics (where in Physics he describes the study of nature as the study of change and all things subject to change).  Each day makes us one day older, new experiences come and go, and life keeps happening.  We couldn't avoid it even if we try.  At the same time, if you're like me (do you really love Spaceballs too?!?) you have some things about your head/life/big fat gut that you want to change.  Often they might be things about yourself, or your behavior, or your circumstances.  Now without going into the whole issue of should you change, the difficulty of enacting these changes can be at times, overwhelming.  I know what I want to change, sometimes I even try to do something about it, but then I fail, the change doesn't happen, I never make it all the way, or the change fails to stick and I revert back to the old habits.  How can things be changing all the time, just not in the ways I want it to?

"Change is inevitable, except from vending machines."  

     - Anonymous

So I'm sensing I'm leaning towards some contentment/acceptance/optimism outlook and I think my tendency would be to "complexify" it.  So instead?  I am just going to simplify.  I'm going to try again.  And I'm going to embrace the value of where I am, the trials I have been brought through, and even the value of failing. I feel that I am called to do that.  Besides, if it wasn't hard to accomplish the change, it wouldn't be quite so rewarding when the goal is achieved.  And I believe I will accomplish it...so I will try again.  Prepare to fast forward!

169 Days to go - Feeling the Love

So y'all are pretty funny.  You make me laugh, a lot.  The comments to my last post had everything a person could want, love, encouragement, and a nice get your rump in gear sentiment.  That pretty much covers it all.  It is also kind of funny because I hadn't meant it to come across as quite so negative and down in the dumps, but I guess looking back at it, that was the result!

Now on to my fun run report.  So one other reason that I had been a little behind on posting was that I was travelling last week, spending time in not-so-sunny San Francisco, California.  I've started taking the approach when I'm travelling of not reporting locations and times away, mostly because of fun sites like PleaseRobMe.com and the like.  I managed to get a couple runs on the hotel treadmill (the sounds being uttered by the cheap plastic thing made me think I was going to make it explode!), and around the neighborhood, but on Saturday it was time for the long run.  I looked for a route and found some suggestions on the San Francisco Road Runners site and found a neat course that went out along the water to the Golden Gate bridge and back.

It was a great course through some neat parts of San Francisco, including Fisherman's Wharf, Fort Mason, past Alcatraz and then winding up right at the base of the bridge.  The views of the Bay were really nice, there were a ton of running folks all about, there was actual sun out, and it almost got to the point of having fun running (almost, lets not get too crazy).  At the turn around point of the run on a fence below the bridge I noticed this...


                                                         

I saw a bunch of other runners putting their hands on it and of course followed suit.  (Amazing one handed cell phone pic to come later!  :) I of course had to do some research and find out who Hopper is/was and this is what I found.  I also had to get a pic because my five year old's nickname is Hopper, for obvious, literal reasons.

So two thumbs up on running in San Francisco, and bonus points for getting away from the hotel and from downtown for a brief moment...

172 Days to Go - Cracking the Code

Hi blog folks,

I'm going through one of those dry spells where I start about a dozen different posts per day and actually post none of them.

The running is going along.  I managed a waddling, crawling 14+ mile run on Saturday which is the longest in a while.  The numbers are increasing albeit a bit below those suggested in the plan.

These non-posting periods usually are associated with some general running/posting/being blahs.  They are often accompanied by internal statements like, "ennh what's the point?" and "Why bother?" and "Pass me another dozen doughnuts" and "Fuhget about it" (the last one if I was an italian mobster).  Its basically summarized by everyone's favorite cheer:

Apathy, apathy, that's our cry!
A-P-A-T...ahh whatever...

So how does one break out of this?  How does one decipher the inscrutable logic, and down feelings?

I guess its just by doing.  For me its purposefully not worrying about perfection, forgetting about all the other past failures, and charging forward.  I can't change the past, I can't ensure the future, but I can do something today.

So I did.

I posted.

I hope you keep posting/doing/running/dreaming/achieving/inspiring me to get off my rump too!

185 Days to go, 35 # to go, 1456 miles to go - All the News You Need to Know - About Ninjas!

I'm trying to squeeze as much possible information into my blog titles as possible.  My next post will have a title that will add listings of things like, how many loads of running clothes laundry have to be done before August 21st, and how many times I will wake up screaming from a nightmare about going up Hope Pass with a piano strapped on my back before the race starts.  Its a public service really.  That and its a denial of service attack on your news reader software, again another public service...

So I added up all the miles left in my training plan and realized I have 1456 miles left.  Lets forget thats almost twice the number I wound up with last year, all in the next six months or so.  Really, I'm trying to forget about it.  I'm also trying to forget about the weekly mileage numbers approaching the number of wins the Tigers had last year (more than 80, shocking isn't it?).   I think the days need to be elongated to allow my plodding self to cover that kind of distance.  Thirty - forty hours per day should do.

Thanks for the linkz from Running is Funny.  Kudos to any blog that gives extended coverage to races that involve eating doughnuts.

Also big link lovez to my sis (who also happens to be a ninja) who had a nice run in some very pleasant weather.

What did I do today to make it up Hope Pass twice?  Uhh I skipped my two mile speed workout.  Yeah me!

188 Days to go, 34.5 # to go, Winter Series 10 mile Race Report - The Victory!

I ran a "race" yesterday.  You can see a very eloquent and pictorial review of the event over here at Happy Trails.  I will say there would be a few differences between his race description and mine.  Basically any time you see Mr. Happy Trails talking about "running fast" or "keeping up with the gazelles" or "sub 7 minutes/mile pace" just replace those in your mind with "trudgingly slow"  or "getting passed by three-toed sloths" or "finish before they close the course" and you will have a pretty good picture of what went on.  OK obligatory slow guy humor out of the way.  It was a pretty fun day.  Getting to meet Mr. Happy Trails was very cool.  He is a very nice guy (how many people stick around forty minutes after their race is done just to catch the end of other peoples'  races?) and it was nice to meet him. (Next time maybe we'll meet Mrs. H.T. also!)  The other friend I was with was having some knee trouble but still managed to push through and have a great time.  And there were doughnuts.  Chocolate ones.  Chocolate Donettes to be exact.  Seriously is there any other better post-run recovery food?

I should also point out that I made my goal.  No, not a time goal, a PR goal, a feel good goal, or a have fun goal.  No.  Much more important.  I made the front page of my local running club website.  Though I don't post many pictures of myself (aesthetic reasons mostly :)) I do have a tendency to try and "spice up" any pics, running or otherwise, that I may appear in.  The local running club takes pictures and then posts some "interesting" ones on the front page after local races.  Well of course this means a challenge, namely, can I come up with a running pose that will "bring home the gold"?  Well, I finally succeeded.  Really its the small victories that count, right?

In case they for some strange reason (like a sudden cratering of their web traffic) take it down from the site.  Here is the pic for your viewing pleasure.  This is at mile 8-9ish.

Photo courtesy Tom Dewane