Many of you who have listened to me espouse my life views have heard me state that in life there are only “good days and great days”, yes there are bad moments but never bad days. And so I think I will put today in the category of a great day. Partially it is driven by my results at the marathon but more than just the finishing time it was the proof that one of my other life messages “Dream it, Plan it, Practice it, Do it”(DPPD) actually works. I state this because more than a few years ago I set out to become a better runner. Like any goal it is never as simple as it sounds. The dream and the plan are the easy part – the practice and do it the harder part. To accomplish my goal a lot of changes were required – I had to adopt a new running form, I had to learn how to run on treadmills (and like them), then there was the learning to run intervals and long (very long) slow sessions. All of these were new to me. But to stay true to the dream (goal) I worked on all of them. It took time, it took failure (even falling on the treadmill once) and it took resiliency and perseverance. I could go on and on about the journey. Not sure it is necessary, you get the point. And so then today came and I had an opportunity to see if indeed the “Do it” part could, through the measures of the race, show that I had indeed become a better runner. And my conclusion is that I am indeed a better runner (And as I am self-reporting I recognize this is subject to debate)
The quantitative view from today is that my marathon time was exactly where I wanted to get I finished the marathon in 3:15:42, finished 4th in my age group of 223 and came in an overall place of 107 out of more than 5,000 runners. A few years ago such a result was for others to produce. I tell you this hoping that what you take away is that when we put our minds to something, when we make a commitment and follow the DPPD mission it produces results. Results that would not be produced otherwise. Figure out what you want to do – make a plan, practice, practice, practice and then go do it – you will be amazed at what you are able to accomplish.
And then there was the Sally thing. Just got off the plane from Miami - made it home - I needed to find out if I had anything left in me - so I turned on the music and started the routine. A bit crazy, yes, got to 3:04 - best time yet - then rest and till the end - got to 147 pushups afterwards. Not sure what to make of it - might all come back to bite me tomorrow. But then I will leave that idea to resolve itself in 24 hours.
Cheers
joe