So my Astros won last night, the seats were fantastic, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable night. Unfortunately for me, I indulged a bit too much in the vino and ended up paying for it this morning. It's funny - the older I get, the more careful I have to be about drinking. I think I had 3 glasses of wine over about 5 hours last night (along with a pretzel and pizza, too - gotta have the ballpark food) but I paid for it dreadfully this morning. Sometimes even one glass can cause a bad reaction; I'm not sure if I'm developing a later-in-life allergy, if my stomach just can't handle the stuff, or what. It's damned frustrating.
But anyway. The plan for today is to finish up at work and head to a different set of friends to crash tonight. I'm hoping to get a short run in this evening, but it'll depend on how well I feel after work today.
Ben Does Life Video
I came across this video this morning (assuming I linked to it correctly). I've actually followed his blog/tumblr for nearly a year I think, and have sincerely enjoyed it. The video, which is a chronicle of his weight loss and foray into fitness (and extreme fitness maybe?), is very motivational. I think the message comes through so clearly at the end - when you decide to do something, just do it. Just go do it.
Sometimes it's so hard to just get started on something because there are always handy excuses. "I don't have time today," "I'll kick it off on Monday," "I need to prepare more," etc. I find that sort of thing happens to me a lot. Sometimes I have to remind myself to just get started already. Take the first step, write the first page, begin the first conversation with someone new. Just start.
Last spring, I got tired of listening to myself make these excuses. I had been wanting to start running regularly for a long time, and, judging from the way my clothes were fitting, I needed to start doing something. Although my first love in sports is tennis, it is harder to fit that into a day; it requires more prep, another person, and a longer period of time. Running, however, just requires a good pair of shoes and a set of running clothes. So at some point last spring, I loaded up my Ipod, bought a good pair of shoes and started running.
Now, until a few years ago, the idea of running for fitness, just running, seemed ludicrous. I have hated running for as long as I can remember. I'm not a naturally fast runner at all. My softball coach used to call me "molasses". My tennis coach always remarked on how slow I was. I was always bringing up the rear in a group run after tennis practice. And I hated. every. minute. I dreaded the days we had those runs scheduled. I dreaded the soreness that would come for several days after - the kind of soreness that makes it agony to sit down and stand up, and makes a set of stairs loom in front of you like a nightmare.
But I sort of figured that I was at least 15 years removed from that crap, and it was probably OK for me to let go of those negative voices. So I started running. [There is an often heated debate about whether you are running or jogging, and how fast you have to go to graduate from jogging - screw that. My legs are moving at a rate faster than a walk, my heart rate is up, I maybe going slower than you - but I'm running as far as I'm concerned, and I don't really care if you think I'm jogging. I'm not doing this for you.] It took several stops and starts to get to the point where I could do a mile, and then two and three miles. Nor will I ever claim to run any of them even remotely close to fast. But after a while, three miles was a normal run, and it felt like a good distance. It quieted the voices in my head that told me I could be doing better for my body, better for my health.
But my three miles then spun out into longer and longer distances, and culminated in a couple of half marathons. I'm shooting for the LR marathon in the spring, if I can stay injury free. Reading blogs and seeing videos like the one I posted above are so inspirational - it reminds me every day to just get out there and do it. Even if I backslide a little bit, I can always start again. Today, tonight, right now - even if I missed the last three runs, I can start over right now and keep going. Same thing with writing, which I'm trying to do more of. Even if I miss a day, even if I feel like I don't have anything to say (which is fine 'cause I don't think anyone's reading anyway!)- just start. Just take the first step and go from there, because you really don't know where you are going to end up - maybe in hopes for a marathon from someone who has always detested and sort of feared running.
Just start.
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