The Setting

I got back from Savannah this afternoon. I'm exhausted. Every muscle in my body is sore. But my mind and spirit are refreshed. So it's time to claim one of my dreams. It's time to write. And the phrase I've had circling my head for almost two years is "In Training."

I was in Savannah for my second half-marathon. For many reasons, this was a wonderful trip and the race itself was really the smallest part of the adventure. But with regards to the athletic challenge, this race was the worst I've ever done. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say, I had to ride the party bus at the second mile to catch up with the rest of the race. :-( Whatever. I'm not giving the medal back. It was a victory on many other levels. And I don't feel guilty about my 13.1 magnet, either, because I definitely walked every inch of that first half-marathon. But again, athletically, this race was proof of how very out of shape and practice I was.

I hadn't bothered to train -not really. I had allowed a very stressful period of about 8 months to completely derail my exercise routine. My wing man - wing woman? - Vicki and I had been adding miles each Saturday we walked, but I hadn't even been walking the past few weekends thanks to plans that kept me out of town. And I've been eating anything in sight, with the exception of foods that are actually healthy for me. One would expect the idea of a 13.1 mile hike to be a motivator to train, but I had made my time on a course in March that had many more hills. I simply didn't take the challenge seriously.

So what? I mean, everyone's had their defeats, right? It's just that it isn't entirely true that I wasn't training. While I thought I was simply not training for my event, I was in fact training for others - a couch potato marathon  and health issues, for example. And that is my point. Everyone is "in training." And my goal from here on out is to make sure that my life is lived in such a way that I'm training for the right events.

This blog is going to be my way of walking that out with my physical health while exploring the spiritual concept behind that. I'm making this public even though I know I won't be satisfied with my writing. (In fact, given how out of practice I am, the thought of people reading my writing makes me cringe.) I've heard it said that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to become truly proficient at something. So, please bear with me as I try to knock some of those hours out. But I know I need the accountability for the writing and the health changes.

If you're walking a similar journey, I'd love to hear what you're learning, as well!