Tag: Mens

I wanted to quit!

Yesterday, I wanted to quit.  Seriously.

I kept thinking, “This isn’t worth it.  It’s too much work.  The pain isn’t going away.  What if I spend $1,000 for a plane ticket, plus hotel, etc, and I can’t run?  Maybe this is too much to expect, too soon – even though it’s been a decade in the making.  Maybe I’m being selfish.  Maybe I’m being blind to something obvious.”

I don’t know.

My foot was sore when I woke up in my Niagara Falls hotel room.  It was also sore the day before.  It was sore when I presented the Disney Service Keynote speech.  It was sore on the plane home.

I didn’t run yesterday, and I wasn’t going to run today.

But I did.  And I took it easy.  Ran 40 minutes with only slight pain.   This all gets so confusing sometimes.

Anyway, I have to get going.

No matter your situation, I wish you wisdom and guidance for good decisions and also a bit of forgiveness if you make any errors.

Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂

Run Blog Run

Run Blog Run is an interesting blog I found while reading Fast Forward on the plane to Niagara Falls yesterday. By the way, I’m here in Niagara Falls, New York.

Fast Forward is a free magazine as part of a USATF membership.

Was it coincidence that the first article on Run Blog Run featured Jeremy Wariner?   Jeremy has dominated the 400 meters for some time:

  • 3 Olympic Gold Medals
  • 4 World Championship Gold medals
  • 5th Fastest 400m Time Ever

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, LaShawn Merritt, age 22, defeated Jeremy, and established himself as the Olympic 400m gold medalist.

What does any of this mean?

It just means that everybody has something they love to do.  Jeremy, LaShawn and I love to run 400m.

I also happen to love helping others go for their dreams.  That’s what Lane 8 is all about.

Dream Big.  Get There.  Stay There.  Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂

Celebrex or Celebrate?

Celebrex or Celebrate?

I took my final Celebrex capsule yesterday.

And I also took the day off from training.

Heading out for a five-mile run shortly, before flying to Niagara Falls, New York.

When I think about the journey, with its struggles and trials, I couldn’t even jog ten years ago.  And when I did start jogging two years later, I ran one mailbox per day for a week.

The following week, two mailboxes per day for a week.  Third week?  You guessed it, three mailboxes per day for a week.

Here we are just over a decade later, and I’m still jogging.

And heading to the 2009 Master’s Track and Field World Championships in Finland.

Amazing what can happen when you don’t give. Carpe diem, jeff 🙂

World Class?

What does it take to be world class?

Why even strive to be world class?   Isn’t that a bit egotistical?  

And even if we could agree it’s not, couldn’t we agree it’s way too much work for the average person?

The big decision remaining for me is when do I buy the plane ticket to Helsinki, Finland?

It’s a significant investment.   “For what“?, I quietly ask myself.

The answer that surfaces most of the time?  

“You only get one shot at life.  Even if you have to walk around the track, you should do it.   Remember, Jeff, there are no guarantees in life.   You’ve been on this journey, consciously, for over ten years.  But in fact, it’s been with you all your life.   You are not being selfish.  Do it“!

And so it goes.  Day in and day out.  One day after another.   What to do?

We all face decisions that don’t have an easy answer.

We all have to decide.  And even if we choose to not decide, we’ve actually still made a choice.  Seriously.

My choice?   The answer seems obvious.  Yet at the same time, I’m having “buyers remorse“.

For now, I’m going to put on my running shoes and go for a run, pray for wisdom, and hope for no pain.  Carpe diem, jeff  🙂

Who’s watching you?

Who’s watching me? 

Everyone probably.   It’s the same for all of us, I think.

People like to watch other people.   Of course, there are exceptions to just about everything.  But generally speaking, this is a great truth.

So the question then, to me, is “So What”?

Well, the answer for me anyway, is that I use that fact to be careful.

Careful?

Yes, careful.

Why?

Simple example.  Our son is eight.  I can not teach him patience with impatience.  Being around a young child has a tendency to test an adult’s patience.

By being aware of this fact, I can anticipate losing my patience before it happens and actually develop habits to remain calm, even when “my buttons are being pushed”.

This can help anyone, anywhere.  How cool is that? 

Funny thing.  I’ve even applied this to running and use it to stay motivated and focused.  It’s what has taken me from an amateur runner to a world-class runner.  

While this was never my goal, it’s where the path has led.  

Yogi Berra, a former famous baseball player who has funny sayings, once said, “When you come to the fork in the road, take it“.   Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂