Obsessed Runner Blog
Going Solo An Alaska Running Adventure
Life is not meant to be lived in moderation. With a middle of the road life comes a middle of the road existence. Stress is in the eyes of the stressed. What could be more stressful than to look back at the years and wonder ... what could I have done? Peace comes to those that already know that answer; theyve done it! I believe life is meant to be lived out toward the edge. The proverbial edge is a personal point that is arrived at by means of your comfort zone. For some it might be an hour hike alone on trails in a state park, for others it might be a solo climb of a 20,000+ ft. peak in the Himalayans.
Without goals, my life seems to wander aimlessly. To stay fit and focused I need to be training for something. To keep my interest these goals must be out near the edge. Once the goal is set, all in life seems to fall in place. I eat, sleep, work, train and seem to be more organized when focused on a long-term goal.
In December of 89, I was without a goal. My last athletic adventure had been a marathon in Mexico.
Run long, look great!
The look of the distance runner, long, lean, defined. A look of balance, action and endurance, not a body built in a gym but on the roads and trails, sculpted in the natural environment by simple hard work, one foot in front of the other. The skin of a runner has an outdoor look. Wind, sun and sweat have given it texture, color and wear. An alive and real look, unlike skin that lives under incandescent light alone. Not to mention tan lines that tell a story of how this body spends its time in motion, in nature.
Help! I'm Feeling Lazy!
Question to the Coach:
...I must confess I have been LAZY. I have been out to the work out two of the three times. So I have no problem getting up on Saturday and driving 45min. to do the running, but during the week I just can't get motivated. Do you think to kick myself in the A** I should run in the morning? I think that might work ... but like I said I have been lazy. Please help! Talk to you soon.
Coach Randy's response:
Motivation is a feeling, feelings are a choice. Like so many things in life. Happiness is a choice. Example: You get in a traffic jam, your choice could be: to sit in this rush hour traffic jam and appreciate the time alone with your thoughts to sort out the world, or.... Another example: When the weather is cold and windy you can think about how you are going to dress for today's run and what route will be plowed or out of the wind. You can think about the great challenge and how you will conquer it. (The same would go for 90 degree heat)
Or, you can bitch, moan and complain about how the world is and do nothing and be miserable!
So, when your mind seems to be made up that it wants to do anything but run, go run. Show your mind that not running is not an option. Hey head, get with the program or be miserable, it's up to you, I'm running! Feel bad? Run down? Unmotivated? Good! Once this run is finished you will have a much greater feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment than an easy run on a nice day. Those are the wimpy runs!
So the next time you feel unmotivated. Get your lazy a__ out of bed and Go Hammer!
Stay obsessed,
Coach Randy
Discomfort, exhaustion, and even suffering come to mind while out there yes, but such trials bring about a spirit of adventure and quests, as well as nirvanas, unknown through the easier ways we have come to take for granted as whole.
"They've moved out of the society that would have protected them, and into the dark forest, into the world of fire, of original experience. Original experience has not been interpreted for you, and so you've go to work out life for yourself. Either you can take it or you can't. You don't have to go far off the interpreted path to find yourself in very difficult situations. The courage to face the trials and bring a whole new body of possibilities into the field of interpreted experience for other people to experience - that is the hero's deed."
- Joseph Campbell