Wednesday, January 01, 2014

New Years Resolutions?

Every year when people wake up tired and hungover on this day hopes and aspirations of a better self awake too.
This year I do not have any concrete goals.  They are more approximations and guidelines.  As humans we all want to improve and better ourselves.  So in the spirit of improvement I desire to better myself.

Physically I would love to drop some weight.  Last year at this time I set a goal to get below 160 pounds and I did it for a few weeks.  As I sit and write this I am almost 20 pounds heavier.  I don't know how much I want to lose, but I know in peak form 165-168 pounds is a great racing weight.  I will not be in peak form till May or June, so I have some time.  Around Christmas time I let my self go and begin to eat like junk and run less.  This year the damage is about 15 pounds worth.  Last year I took a weekend in January to reset my body.  I ate juice for breakfast and lunch and a vegetarian meal for dinner.  I plan on doing it again this weekend.  I need to limit my intake of sugar and fatty foods.  I let myself get out of control over the holidays. This post is more of an awaking and confession of bad habits that need to get back in line.

Mentally, I suppose reading more would increase my mental fortitude.  Less television in 2014 would help.  There is too much on TV lately that is crap and awful to subject my children to.

Spiritually, I want to love more.  I wish to be an open and accepting person.  I want to help love people who need it.

All these are good things for the new year, but they are hard to measure.  That is why I feel like they are my guidelines for 2014.  I could say I will only watch 10 hours of TV per week.  What if I watch 11?  Will I be a failure?  I am not setting strict limitations because of a fear of failure, but because I become too legalistic.  I would log my hours spent and think about and plan my life around what I want to watch because I can only watch so much.  If I aim to lose 5 pounds by the end of the month I will weigh my self everyday and count calories like Scrooge.  These actions, all though good for myself, will be a living nightmare for my family.  I desire to live life connect to God and others in freedom.  I want my life to be marked with improvement and maturity.  But not at the cost of others.

Here is to a better 2014!

Monday, December 30, 2013

Obligatory end of year recap

As the end of 2013 draws near I look back on the running year.  Honestly I feel like my running year ended over a month ago.  But as I sit and think I found out, and soon you will too, they are two and the same.  My running year and 2013 as the same.  I know that may sound very logical, but the point I am making is running is my life and my life is running.  What happens in life effects running and my running sheds light into my life situations.  Some hard things happened in 2013.  Running helped me stay calm at times.  Other times I realized that running was labored because of the hardness of life.  But I was okay with this new found ideology, or so I now admit.  This month I have covered 14 miles.  I found that running helps you connect to yourself.  And if you want to call that selfish go ahead.  I would like to argue that getting to know myself better I have become a better person.  In 2013 I learned that not all will go the way you want it to, and that is okay.  I learned to cherish that what you do have.  I learned to love every mile, one day you may not be able to run even one mile.
Looking back there are some major things that got accomplished.  None of them were done on my own.  God was my help in time of trouble.  Many times I thought if I just worked harder a result would appear.  At times the results did appear.  But who was it that allowed it, God.  This is my view as a religious man.  Not all would believe this, I get that.  If you do, you understand that all is to God's glory.
I was able to run 50 miles.  Let me say that again because I still cant believe that.  I ran 50 miles.
in 2013 I was able to pace a half marathons.  I love the feeling of helping others.  And in the selfish sport where so much time is spent alone working on our bodies I was able to give back to the running community.  I also gave back by volunteering at the Ice Age races and the USA Triathlon Nationals.
Personally I officially set a PR in the marathon, half marathon, and 5k.  I was able to cover more than 1300 miles this year.  Most ever.  2013 was a good year for what I accomplished in running.  However life is more than running.  Running will enhance your life.  It will help you see life and appreciate it more.
I have no idea what 2014 will hold.  And I am okay with it.  No lie!