Nine Mile Run

As I look back on the past two years, especially since Julia’s death, I realize that probably one of the biggest things that has taken a hit in my life even after my marriage to Sheryl has been my physical fitness.  Some of it can be attributed to my busy schedule and the fact that I really didn’t have time, but I always made time before.  Some of it could be attributed to the grief that I was going through, but that has been almost two years, and in every other area, I have received great healing.  Even after my marriage, it has been hard to get motivated to really go out and run.  I’ve tried a number of times, and it hasn’t really worked.  It’s like I have been in a dead zone as far as training and fitness went,

Because of that, I have continued to have trouble maintaining or losing weight.  I have slowly gained weight over time and that makes it even harder to get motivated.  But I think that I am finally turning the corner.  I have decided to train for another marathon.  This will be my 15^th if I finish it.  I plan to finish it and I have finished everyone that I have run.  So, I have to seriously get into the grove, and quickly.  The marathon is the Georgia Marathon here in Atlanta.  It runs on Sunday March 18, 2012.  I have about 12 weeks to complete my training.  That should be enough based on what I did today.  Last week I ran a 10K course for my long run and felt good.  Today I ran probably the longest run that I have run in over two years.  I completed 9 miles and I felt pretty good doing it.  Sure, it was slower than I liked, but I am carrying some extra weight right now.  As the weight comes of, the time will increase, running should help the weight to come off faster.

I am not one for New Year’s Resolutions, but at the same time I believe that the week between Christmas and New Year is a great time to evaluate where you are in all phases of life.  As I spend time this week, I really want to look at a few things.  Sheryl and I have basically just been living on the go, trying to stay ahead.  I want us to be ahead of our schedule and be proactive about what we do.  So, maybe during our drive down to Ft Lauderdale we can come up with some ideas about how to do that.

There is so much that we want to do, but in order to do it all, we have to prioritize all the things we do.  That takes time and thought; hopefully we can put the thought in during the time we have before things really get started up again.  The drive will be a good time to do it.  I want to be able to focus on the kids once we get down there. The weather looks great, and it is going to be great to be able to run and walk in the nice south Florida weather.

So, I guess the question is really how to begin to “train” in all phases of life the way that I started training for the Marathon.  It’s all about dreams and goals.  Dreams will never be realized if you don’t match them with some measurable and achievable goals.  Have fun as you begin to visualize all you can do in the next year.  There is no limit to what we as believers can accomplish if we prioritize and focus on the main things.