While I am sure there are millions of posts like this today, and yesterday, I felt the need to be here. It has been since March. I have had hundreds of ideas pass through my head since then, but never had the desire to post them.
This year has passed with few changes or updates in our lives, except for one million little things that make each and everyday a journey. Molly still has a job, for now. I still have a job, though I am constantly looking for that next great opportunity. Clarice started Kindergarten, though not that big of a thing since we went through the pre-school change in 2008.
I am not usually one for resolutions, or goals for that matter, but this last month has made me rethink that, and life in general. About four weeks ago I decided I needed to do something about my overall physical health. I guess it kind of started back in June, right before Clarice’s 5th birthday. I went and saw a doctor for the first time in about, oh let’s call it 6 years. He is a quack, but it helped me to understand that I needed to change, and that medicine is really only a way to help me along that path. For years I suffered from chronic sinus headaches. They got better when I stopped smoking in April of 2008, but still lingered. He gave me some nasal spray, which I still can’t pronounce properly, and put me on Claritin, and some low dose blood pressure medication. The latter stems from me being overweight, and several episodes over the years where stress and fatigue have put my life at risk. The worst was about 9 years ago when I had a reading of 150/ 155, and had severe body tremors while at work (150 is bad enough but the second number should be well below 100). I now have a reading of about 130/80, good, but still not where it needs to be. The headaches are gone for the most part, but if I fail to take my medication, like I did about 2 weeks ago when I had a stomach flu, they come back with a vengeance.
Even with that flu episode I have still maintained a relatively regular running and workout routine. I decided that I would run in the 10k here in Richmond at the end of March. I started slow, knowing that starting too fast would put me in harm’s way, both physically and mentally. I Wiied for the first 10 days, building up my muscles and stamina. Then on a cold morning on December 14th at about 6am, after a brief Wii warm-up, I ran outside for the first time in about 15 years. Wow, was it exhilarating. I sucked, but it felt great. 13:34 was my one mile time, a long way from the 70-74 minutes I signed up for to run 6.1 miles. After one week, on my 4th run I hit 10:55. I now average about and 11:15 mile and am running about 80% of a half-mile. My official training starts on January 16th with the YMCA, in which I will run 3 days and 4 miles, building from here to the race on March 27th, 2010.
I say this because of how this post started. I didn’t decide this yesterday, but it is my goal. I didn’t decide this yesterday, but it will change my life.
I have a plan to run a 5k in mid-February, after I turn 35, and another 5k in April with my sister, who is back on the running wagon, or is that off the wagon and running…but anyway, I have a goal and a plan to get to that goal.
Most of my life has been a series of read-and-react exercises, and maybe that is why I find myself where I am today. This may the first time in my life where I have thought something out with a plan and an end-game goal.
So, go ahead, make those resolutions, but think them out. How will you get there? Who will be there with you? Where will you be at the time t you fulfill them? But maybe, more importantly, where will they take you?
Thanks for listening;)
