I decided to kick off my blog today with a 10-mile run. Yesterday I purchased a GPS-enabled running log which I was super-excited to try out. Unfortunately, I messed up by accidentally turning off the GPS signal during the first two miles. And then I got crapped on by a bird. Yes...a bird actually dumped green and white poop on my head.
As gross is poop on your head is, I actually enjoy these kinds of experiences. A few months ago I got attacked by a colony of fire ants in Texas and came away from the experience with a leg that developed a rash looking like acne. My entire leg from below the knee looked like a 13-year old's face. Awesome!
How we retrospectively view our experiences is often determined by our attitude. I could be grumpy and tell people how horrible it was to be attacked by fire ants (it hurt, it was shocking, I got a nasty rash...). And they would say, "Oh that sucks" and feel sorry for me. Or I could smile and talk about how ridiculously funny it was that I got attacked by fire ants, and in return people would laugh and enjoy the experience of me telling them the story.
Ok, so back to the kick off of this blog...
I was recently inspired to finally set a few goals that I've never dared before. They have always been in the back of mind, but for some reason I'd either pushed them to a later date or tried to write them off as too ambitious. Failure is a scary thing, and probably the main culprit in why people set goals too low for themselves. I've fallen prey to this a few times myself. Once I recognized low goal setting with my fitness goals, I said "screw it", and so I hereby declare the following goals for myself:
1. Qualify for the Boston Marathon during this upcoming race season
2. Complete a 50-mile ultramarathon
3. Learn to enjoy running (i.e. make it a Zen experience)
To qualify for Boston I need to run a marathon at a 7:15 mile pace. I'd like to think that the only thing that can come in the way of my goals is to get injured. Nothing else should be acceptable. I guess we'll see what happens...
About Me
- The un-Zen Runner
- After walking all the mile runs in Junior High PE, I decided to join the cross country team in High School. I was extremely surprised when I won my first race, and then continue to win many other races close to home. I ran a 5K in less than 17 minutes, which was good in the podunk area I grew up in, but didn't make me much of a threat at State Finals, where I continually got smoked by dozens of runners. Due to having many good friends that also ran, I continued to run cross country all four years of High School. Since then I have ran off and on. Mostly off. Except for the last two years thanks to graduating college and finally having some money in my pocket to sign up for runs and other endurance events. While I can not brag about my race times, I am a proud finisher of the Napa Valley Half Iron-Man, Escape from Alcatraz swim, and three marathons.
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