Thoughts on the Run

1:40:45 – 6.66 miles (Mount Falcon run, 1,900+ elevation gain)

I’m quick to learn what I need to do in order to improve. Telling me it will be difficult or challenging is not something I pay particular attention to. Everyone has their own perception of “challenging” and whether something will happen. There are times I trick myself into thinking I can do something that I’m not ready for.

Today I met Andrew at the base of Mount Falcon. This was of course after cooking breakfast for wife and 4 kids, doing dishes, and taking 2 kids to swimming lessons. It was a chilly morning in the mid-30’s with some wind. We had been planning to do this run for about 7 months and our schedules finally coordinated for me to experience this. He has this trail memorized down to the specific switchback. For me … well, this is the 3rd trail I’ve ever run.

I knew that I would not be running the entire time and made the mistake of going to fast out of the gate. There is a big difference between running on a treadmill at max incline for an hour and running a mountain for 10 minutes. The treadmill is much easier. Climbing climbing climbing went on for almost an hour. It felt good minus my heart wanting to explode. I ran without music to see if I could keep my mind off running. Not so much.

Was great to reach the top and take in the view. Today wasn’t about hitting a specific time as it was more about getting to particular point. Quite often we focus on the time and for some (those that get paid to win) that is important. If we’re always focused on the next task or thing, we lose sight of enjoying the moment that the previous tasks got us to. It reminds me of one of my favorite movie sayings:

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. -Ferris Bueller

It’s important to keep moving forward and having goals. To stay motivated and continue on your journey, you need to recognize your accomplishments. Even if this means you went a week without candy, parked farther away from the office, or walked to get the mail.

Listen to Ferris, and make sure you’re looking around to enjoy where you are.