Fall. The photo is actually a couple of years old, but one of my favorites from the Peaks of Otter in Bedford, Va.
Tag Archives: life
Day 20: I’m thankful for …
Pro-con lists.
Several years ago when faced with a tough career decision, my wife and I made a pro-con list on making a moving from Virginia to Georgia. In our minds we were ready to make the move; when we made the list, we realized the move didn’t make sense.
Always, always, always make a list when having to make a decision like that.
Day 9: I’m thankful for …
Every day.
And Everyday …
Day 1: I’m thankful for …
I’ve never got caught up in the monthlong “thankful for” posts on Facebook in November because, quite frankly, I got too caught up in others negativity.
Yes, positive posts that are actually negative. “Today I’m so thankful for alarm clocks to wake me up because I hate my job so much!”
Yes, those posts happen. At least something close to that.
This year, though, I feel an urge to end things on a different note and participate in giving thanks every day. Be positive and stay positive. No negatives in my positives. Remember basic math — when you multiply a negative by a positive, the answer is negative!
I also want to get back to writing more, so I thought what better way to do that than to focus on the positive things in life? And I’ll do that right here every day on my blog this month.
I’ll kick this month off with being thankful for my family of 4. My first son will be 5 this weekend; my second son has had a great first 6 weeks of life. My wife and I continue to have an awesome relationship after 9 years of marriage.
Nothing else I post this month will top this as far as importance goes.
The first family of 4 photo in September.
Falling back in love?
My favorite quote of the weekend was during Dave McGillivray’s presentation. Dave is the Boston Marathon race director.
For much of the past year, I have felt disconnected from the running world. I’ve had so many more downs than ups since I fell apart at the Richmond Marathon. Without diving into it too much, before this weekend I found myself glad I’ve given myself this break.
No pressure, no major goals, no thinking about running other than doing enough to not get too far off track, no getting wrapped up in what other people were doing.
After my experience this weekend at the Runner’s World Festival, though, I know that it’s time for change. In my mind I’ve been ready to make some changes, but I haven’t pushed myself enough to take action.
It’s time to refresh my goals. Really refresh them. And be realistic about them. And be harder on myself as I get closer to them.
I can get into all that later, as this post really isn’t about me. It’s about this group of 20 people over the weekend who have help me realize I need a new path.
As a full disclaimer, Runner’s World paid for my trip to Bethlehem, Pa., and treated 20 of us bloggers to an experience like no other.
While the swag was nice, the experience of meeting so many people I knew by blog name or Twitter name only is what made this weekend truly special.
It’s easy to say that this weekend is the moment where I fell back in love with running, but I won’t know if that’s true for another month or so. Like any good relationship, it’s going to take time to figure that part out.
As I think about how I want to really sum up the weekend, I have trouble finding the right words. Fellow blogger and #fitblog founder Katy (who was the inspiration for starting #runchat) said it best in her post:
From the Runner’s World staff and editors to the volunteers to the passionate sponsors who seemed truly excited to meet and work with us, this weekend affected me deeply. Thank you is not enough …
For those of who blog regularly or enjoy conversations on Twitter, I have to blunt with you: don’t hide behind your phones or computer screens.
Go to races. Socialize. Meet other people you think you know so well. You’ll be rewarded with experiences that will change you forever.
As for the actual running this weekend? I’ll save that unexpected story for later in the week.
Thanks to Running Skirts for hooking up me, Scott and Bart Yasso with a skirt at the Skirt Olympics.
Bloggers at the Altra clinic.
The Running is … board from Altra.
Runner’s World cookbook
Awesome items from Icon Fitness
Eat Run Repeat and Stuftmama with their tiny silverware.
Scott and I with #fitblog founder Katy, our inspiration for #RunChat
A huge thanks goes out to sponsors who provided gear or other information directly to the bloggers at the Runner’s World Festival: Altra, Running Skirts, Ortholite, Icon Fitness, Bondi Band, Injinji, PRO Compression, SPIBelt, The Stick, Wild Planet, Belvita, Deer Park Water (Nestle), Run Donna, and Bermuda Marathon.
The fall focus
When I went for a run on Tuesday afternoon I had a blog post all cooked up in my head about how great September was both with the new family addition and having some great runs. Now I can’t even remember what exactly I was thinking about. A bike ride and another run later, September really feels like a long time ago.
Such is life with a newborn and an almost 5-year-old. And I certainly wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Someone once told me they didn’t understand what I meant by there being so many other important things in life than running. It’s those more important things that are giving me some new focus this fall as I come off lower summer mileage and prepare for races at the end of the year. If I didn’t add to my family this year I very likely would have been in this same routine as the past few years of getting ready for a fall marathon.
Quite honestly, that would be boring.
As I head into fall with so much else going on around me, I feel like I can make the best of the my running time so much more than before. That’s my 30-60 minutes several times a week to get it done. That time will likely be very split in mornings, mid-day and night runs for the next few months.
My 13 goals for the year have kind of taken a backseat to everything else going on. There are certain things I know won’t happen, such as my fastest 5k, but I’ve replaced that with wanting to go for a 10-mile PR at Surf ‘n’ Santa in December. There are certain goals that I’ve hit or will hit, and those will all be deserving of their own posts over the next few months.
With the final quarter of the year staring at me, I’m ready to focus on just a few things with running and my overall fitness. The same will ring true for 2014. It’ll be my 10th year of running, and I want to have a few goals that will leave me focused and feeling satisified as I aim to reach them.
I’d love to go back and redo my 13 goals, but I’ll just let that be a lesson learned. I’ll look back on them later this year and see what worked, what didn’t and how I can apply everything to next year.