It’s getting dark earlier and getting light later.
Autumn is coming and Winter after that. Shorter daylight hours.
If you said, “Jeff, what’s your favorite time to run”? I’d tell you humid mornings, just before sunrise, when there is no need for even a t-shirt to stay warm.
Plus, I get to watch the sun rise. And on a day like that, I’ll be soaked with sweat. That’s the favorite.
Even though they last from March through September, those days are quickly fading. So what?
It’s a constant and significant reminder that motivation is the key.
Cold, dark mornings with oncoming cars, headlights blaring, racing 60-65 mph to get to work. Who needs that? Who wants that?
Not me.
Actually, I do need it. Without exercise, there’s too much at risk.
It’s been a productive week. Have poured myself out particularly hard this week. Burning the candle at both ends, so to speak, and therefor, adequate sleep is one of the sacrifices.
Because the world championships are over, there is not a compelling goal in front of me, to make the tough choices easy.
Well, actually, there is a compelling goal. I pick him up at school everyday.
Until you grasp this concept of “purpose” you will remain stuck, and your health goals will only be “resolutions” after a night of drinking too much, eating too much, or sitting around too much.
Remember, from one push up a day to World Championships. All so I can see our son graduate from High School in ten years.
There are two types of goals, basically. Got 30 seconds? Listen as I explain them here:
What made and continues to make, Nike brilliant is their slogan, “Just Do It”!
Someday, we will live with peace or we will live with regret. That’s enough to get me off my butt. What’s it gonna take for you? If not today, when? Carpe diem, jeff noel
If it were easy, everybody would be doing it. But it isn’t easy.
This is the part that confuses me. If we know exercise is good for us, and that our overall situation improves with exercise and reasonable eating habits, why do so few engage in it?
A top theory I have – people lack the courage to do the hard things. Like think about the consequences. And, there’s way too much codependency.
Editor’s note: I struggle with this as much or more than you. Everyone does. So quit feeling sorry for yourself. I have.
Heres my secret:
“If your goal isn’t impossible, you’re not reaching high enough”.
Basically, the hidden meaning is this – we need to be motivated for something bigger than ourselves. Period.
The next progression to fulfill Lane 8′s vision is firmly in place. Stay tuned as the story continues. Carpe diem, jeff noel
One of my all-time favorite movies, in any genre, is Without Limits- the Steve Prefontaine story.
He was a front-runner. meaning, he went out front, grabbed the lead and held onto it until the finish line.
His coach, Bill Bowerman, at the University of Oregon, tried to get him to hold back and draft off other runners. Hold back so he could run his last mile faster than his first mile – and probably his overall time would be faster.
Pre, basically, would have none of it.
(Click here – Pre’s attitude – to play the movie trailer)
The only way he knew how to run was flat out, all the way.
Even if he lost, he would always know that he left nothing on the track.
His greatest race was the 5,000 at the 1972 Munich Olympics. He finished fourth.
But it was still his greatest race.
If I have to explain it to you, then you probably won’t understand. But that’s OK. There’s a ton I still don’t understand.
I do understand one thing though, if your goals aren’t impossible, you’re not reaching high enough. You can quote me on that one.
Carpe diem and leave nothing on the track. jeff noel
OK, so yesterday morning, as I’m jogging out of our neighborhood, a dear friend and long-time neighbor was walking her two dogs.
This neighbor attended our Son’s first Holy Communion on April 25. She had dinner with us that night, along with my In-Laws from Allentown, Pennsylvania.
The day before I had just broken the news to my Mother-In-Law that I’d be going to Finland for the Master’s Track & Field World Championships. She was surprised, of course, and also skeptical.
While celebrating our Son’s major accomplishment, we spoke of many things during that dinner.
Eventually, Finland came up. I saw it as an opportunity to share a vision of why I am going. My Son completely gets it. My wife is right there too. My In-Laws and my neighbor, not even close.
I had to tell you that so I can tell you this:
Yesterday my neighbor asked, “How’s your training coming?Are you still going to Finland?”
Here’s the point. Without even hesitating I replied, “Yes, even if I have to walk around the track!”
That had a haunting revelation, to hear myself say those words.
This is bigger than anything I can explain. At a gut level, I’m so invested in it, that seeing it through, no matter what the obstacles, is the only course of action
This scares the heck out of me. Talk about pressure and second-guessing yourself.
Than why?
It’s a platform, a metaphor, a challenge, a childhood dream reborn, a legacy, an impossible goal.
It’s all that.
My son will remember this long after I’m gone. I hope he will find strength and determination, in my strength and determination.
On Friday a colleague and I were talking about exercise and I asked if he was still running. He said no. He explained that it’s too difficult for him to get motivated.
I suggested his reason to exercise wasn’t compelling enough. Maybe if he was doing it to show his kids that getting old doesn’t mean you have to get overweight and out of shape.
