"My life is a work in progress."
- A Friend from Canada
Well, there's now officially just slightly less than four weeks left to go to the Columbus Marathon. Today was supposed to be a 12 mile run. I traded this weekend for last week's half marathon, so today was almost a 20 miler. I called in the dogs at 18.5 miles. No regrets. It was enough. Next week is a 50 mile week. After that, I begin the tapering process.
I was inspired this week when a wonderful friend of mine referred to their life as a "work in process." It's so true of all of us. For most of our lives, we get endless second chances to get it right. The word "right" in this case would be defined in the spirit of Dr. George Sheehan as, "Becoming the person you believe you were meant to be." To achieve this goal, it takes work and its an everyday effort, whether it relates to running or other aspects of our lives. There's one thing for sure. My journey to Columbus has helped me deal in a positive way with whatever disappointments I have encountered in the past fourteen weeks in all areas of my life. It's really been quite a wonderful experience up until now. I feel like an athlete.
There have been some close calls but I have had no accidents and no injuries. These final weeks to Columbus will be spent working on my race day pace, nutrition, and preparation. I am going to adjust my sleep schedule and life style each day so I can emulate having to get up earlier on race day. I want race morning to feel as normal as possible.
The Summit Athletic Running Club is hosting a public breakfast at Canal Park the morning before the Akron Marathon featuring marathon great Dick Beardsley. The event is to honor and support the work of the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. I love the dedication of the people at the Foodbank. Their life's work is to feed lots of people who need a hand up. I cannot imagine a hungry student being able to learn. Those young people's lives without proper nutrition are like running a marathon without training for it. You can possibly do it, but the odds are against you. It all serves as a guide for me to get it right these final weeks. The breakfast event is an outgrowth of my journey and encouragement of the folks from the Akron Marathon. We are going to have a great turnout at the breakfast!
Dick Beardsley:
Here's the personal scorecard for now. I was 245 pounds earlier this year and 235 when I started this Blog. My weight is volatile but within a range of 219 to 225 pounds. A lot of this fluctuation is caused by not completely eliminating sugar from my diet other than from natural sources. As of tonight, processed sugar is gone from my diet except for the next four Saturday afternoons when I watch college sports. While I have been eating much better, I will be more gratified the evening of October 18 if I stop most sugar use now. It's probably that one more thing I can do that will help me have a positive marathon race experience. By the way, my blood pressure has significantly improved over the past fourteen weeks, and all of my other health readings like cholesterol etc. are excellent.
This is THE last week of full-on running and body stress until marathon day. The next four weeks are building a foundation for the rest of my life for however long that may be. Know this. I'm happy. I'm inspired by the support I have received regarding this Blog. After this posting, I will be closing in on close to 5,000 reads of weezersandgeezers.blogspot.com. I know what I am doing is not any more special than what other runners are doing to prepare for their running events. This however is my journey and I am so glad that I have shared my experiences. The emails, personal comments, and the fact that my compositions have brought me closer to people I haven't seen in some cases for years, like my awesome cousins. The accountability of the Blog has helped me take the first step out the door to the scheduled training runs.
The journey and a dear co-worker helped connect me with a wonderful organization:
This is a group that helps people who have been stricken with cancer go on their own personal journey and adventures. I truly would not have fully appreciated this organization without the experience of the past fourteen weeks. (lifeisgoodnomatterwhat.org) The lives these folks help, have a shorter time line in their life's process. All have a motto: "Celebrate Life Today Like There's No Tomorrow." What I have learned most is that the motto doesn't just apply to the people Life Is Good supports. More than ever, it applies to you and me.
So many positive by-products of the running schedule. So many good things to look forward to on a daily basis. It's worth repeating. "Celebrate life today like there's no more tomorrow."
As my friend said, "My life is a work in progress." Yeah, you and me too. Together, our journey's are far from lonely, a lot more meaningful, and most of all, fun. What do you say? Since we are all people "Under Construction," let's each of us celebrate the chance to be just a little bit better person, every single day. For me, I do that through running and I couldn't have gotten this far without your interest and support. Many thanks! I"ll be celebrating the evening of October 18.....no matter what.
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