Things nobody really cares about but I'll comment on them anyway

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Reflections on the journey thus far

I was talking with a friend last night, and with Amy over the past couple of days about the process of readying myself for this run. With the final test still looming it is easy to overlook the gains I have made through this experience. Among the many ideas of why I might do something like run a marathon, several are smaller goals I have already attained. I’ll list a few below.

-getting in better shape
-dropping a few pounds
-challenging myself physically
-having a goal
-learning something new both about the sport and myself

There is still the pressure of achieving the goal, and yet as I really think about it the achievements above surpass the goal itself for me. No I’m not dropping out of the race. I’m just trying to put this in perspective for myself. I have long since accepted that due to unforeseen circumstances I am not precisely where I thought or hoped I would be in my preparation. But I am at peace with that, I couldn’t do anything about that anyway. I asked a lot of questions during the last half of my long run on Saturday. They were and still are important questions for me. Who am I really running this for? What constitutes success in my eyes? Is this experience valuable? Who really cares? What really brings me joy and happiness?

I was sharing with Amy how nice it was running with John on Saturday and how fun it is running with Steve, Shack, and Wayne. Most of the things that I do for fun involve a social aspect and running it turns out is no different. Experiences in general from my life’s understanding at least, are almost always enhanced when shared. I was lamenting the fact that for Black Mountain, the idea of running a race with strangers was a bit of a bummer. She reminded me I was running the race for me anyway. It was a good reality check.

Ultimately I’m not exactly sure how I feel about next Saturday. Nervous, excited, unsure, semi-confident, yes to all. For the first time in a very long while I stand before a challenge that I cannot truly anticipate an outcome for. How will I do, what will the course be like, what will the weather be like, are all variables that I do not control. Next Saturday will be a true adventure in that the outcome is UNCERTAIN. I hope that I do well whatever that means. I know that I can finish barring major unforeseen occurrences. Waiting and anticipating are always the most difficult parts of most things.

Zircon

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

so you don't think you are going to win? What kind of sport is this?
Well you at least "win" a t-shirt or something, right?
Just don't hurt anyone and we can call it a win.
Have Fun,
Dave

Brickhead said...

Hey dude - I heard you got the sickness. It totally stinks. So, even though you are probably laying in bed too achy to sleep and coughing your brains out, how about sticking the pics from the marathon up?

Kidding- do it in its own time - hope you feel better

Feather Chucker said...

Congratulations! Great writing too. I enjoyed reading it. I can just imagine in your head the dismay when asking someone how far you've gone for them to say a number way less then you'd expect. Great story. If you want to read some hideous writing check out my blog, fishwithkev.blogspot.com.