27 New Goals and some Ramblings!

Saturday our new running group met. We had 34 people signed up and 27 people actually show up for the meeting. I admit, I was nervous. I am not a great speaker and I feel I am even worse when speaking in a church setting, but it went off well. One of the things I asked everyone to do was to list their goal for the course! I have to say that I had 27 different goals form these new runners. It was very inspiring. I had responses from "finish a 5K" to "get in better shape" to beat a "PR of 41 minutes". It was very inspiring to see people who were not runners, getting out and running. I am so looking forward to the next 12 weeks and watching them grow in this sport!!!

They have also inspired me to get up and run in the morning.

I am having my biggest month on the bike so far.

I went to Game 4 of the Grizzlies vs. Clippers on Sat with my oldest boys and some friends!  Lots of Fun!  Go Grizzlies!!!

20 days until my Olympic Tri, which I am hoping for sub 2:45, but not very confident.

I am also on a Hot Tamale kick!  Good stuff and fat free as well! (says so on the box)

I weighed in at 179 this morning!!!!

Coming up in a day or two, I am posting my review on Zoggs goggles and there will also be a giveaway of goggles!!!!

My Jerry McGuire Manifesto Post...

I want to talk about something that comes up quite abit this time of year. You can find it is the topic of blogs across the Internet and it is something that I  have a love/hate feeling about. I am speaking of setting goals for the upcoming year. What are my goals for 2012?  What do I want to accomplish?  What do I have to do to make me feel good about 2012? This is the question I am asking myself.

And I am not talking about life goals, (those are easy, and I will share those if you really want to know) but more specifically about race goals. See, I have found out that I am a much better trainer than I am a racer. I honestly do not think I hit a single race time goal in 2011. So I wonder if I just set to high of a goal for myself, or am I that blind to my abilities? I know that when I am running, I picture my self looking like Crowie running down the street all stoic and fierce, but in my race photos, it ain't even close. I look more like Sgt Pyle from Full Metal Jacket! So maybe I am delusional...

Now according to this statement I found on the Internet to the left, goal setting has to start out as a dream right? I mean, if I dream it, I can achieve it or some crap like that. Well, I am not sure this is Internet gold. I mean I have had some great dreams regarding my races, and I have taken actions only to have that goal explode in my face. So I think it takes more than just action. I do not really have dreams of being on the podium of the races I run, but I do want to say I bettered my time from last year. And that is something I have not been able to do in 2011. I honestly think I do not know how to realistically set a goal for a race. I tend to take a race and break it down something like this. I know I can run a 25 minute 5K, I biked 25 miles the other in 1:10 and I swam 1500 yards in 28 minutes, so my goal for this race is 2:03. Race time comes around and I am crossing the finish line in 2:15, which is way off. I know, I am simplifying things to much when it comes to making a race goal, but going into the race, why can't I finish in 2:03? Nothing is stopping me but myself. I tend to  become a math major in the middle of the race and I start calculating just how far off pace I am to hit my goal and I want to just say screw it, just finish, and then comes the walking part. I hate the walking part!

So what is the answer?  No clue actually. Maybe this year I set no goals when it comes to a race. Maybe I do not even wear a watch!  (I know this sounds crazy because we all love the gadgets don't we?) Maybe I run the races just for the fun of it. Maybe I should be happy that the simple fact of the matter is I did finish my first marathon, maybe I should just be happy that I had zero flats at Ironman Branson 70.3 this year and I finished. Maybe I shouldn't worry about being embarrassed about a 6 hour marathon (which I am )...

I do not think I am wired the right way to say I am going to run these races for fun. I like to compete. I like to compete against myself. I have to be willing to push myself to the point of it hurting. I do not care where the other guys finish, but I have to care about me giving it 100% at the end of the race. I can't not let all the early morning swims and runs be for nothing. I want my wife and kids to talk proudly about me and how I tried my hardest and competed. I am no longer racing to complete, but I am there to compete. (Cue theme music). I am ready to make this year a great one. I am ready to run more than last year, ride more than last year and swim further than last year, but most important, I am ready to push it harder than I did last year. That's my goal for my 2012 race season. I will bring it!

Journey or Destination???

I wanted to do a post about the whole LeBron James and the Miami Heat spectacle. While I think we can all agree that he entire “Decision” was over the top, I can honestly say that I think he made the wrong choice. I think he is looking for the easy way to get to the desire destination. If he thinks there was pressure on him to win in Cleveland, well just wait. Anything less than multiple championships by the Heat will mean failure.

MJ was recently asked about LeBron’s decision. Jordan said that he would have never called up Larry (Bird) and Magic and said, let’s play on one team. The reason why?? He wanted to beat the best. Magic Johnson has said the same thing. These guys were true competitors, and they loved to compete against each other. I like to compete against my friends. I think it makes things more fun and interesting. LeBron’s decision reminds me of the aging veteran player signing with a team that is a contender just to get a ring.

I read an article that I want to quote. I forget which article I read it from, but it describes something I think is missing in the sports world today.

“What is more important, the journey or the destination? I vote for the journey. The whole point of competition is the challenge. It’s testing yourself against the best. It’s pushing yourself to your absolute potential. But when you take shortcuts to make things easier on yourself, and all you have in your sites is that sparkling reward at the end, you’re missing the whole objective.”

As I read this quote, I immediately thought of my Ironman journey. I am sure I will always cherish crossing that finish line and hearing them say “You are now an Ironman”, but I will also remember all the cold early mornings I got out of my warm bed to train. I will remember all the runs in the rain and the blistering heat. I will remember all the blisters, aches and pains. I will remember flat tires, broken goggles and bad races I had. I will remember the journey it took to get me to that point. I will respect that journey we all take to get to the finish line. I will also know that it wasn’t handed to me; it took work, dedication and the support of my family. It IS the journey that makes the destination so sweet.

I asked my 10 yr old son to read the quote and asked him what he thought of it. His answer was “To not take the easy way”. He then said this sounded like something to post on his wall so he could read it every morning! That might not be a bad idea!

I understand that I am far away from winning an overall race or an AG. BUT, I am getting closer each year, slowly but surely I am improving and I get tremendous satisfaction from these little gains. Too many people want the easy way out, they want to get to Heaven but they do not want to die.

Personally, I like all the training and hard work. I like to see the improvements over time, I like to talk about the struggles I had swimming 6 laps and thinking it was a tough workout for me 3 years ago. I like that today, I can say a 4 mile run is a short run for me, but 3 years ago it might as well have been a marathon. It has definitely been a journey and I am not done with my journey!


****Coming Soon, Daily Trainings first ever giveaway!! More info in my next post***