Actually it's past that time...
time for an update on The Long Run.
I've been planning to get a new update written and sent out for a while now. 'TLR Update'- It's been written in my planner for a week or so now, written on my dry erase board (with a star next to it nonetheless!), written on various post-it to do lists, even highlighted...and yet it is only now, as I finally sit down and just START that I have the slightest hope of getting it DONE.
In order to accomplish anything, anything at all, we must first start.
(Well. That sounds wise of me, doesn't it? But perhaps not very original... : ) )
I am a big fan of metaphors, and for me, running is full of good ones. Maybe this is part of the reason I love it so much- for all the ways it's helped me to understand living.
Did some great training this morning- 4 and a half hours running, plus an hour walk, fairly moderate pace- about 30 miles total.
Funny that I call it great now. Funny, or maybe just...false. The problem is with that particular adjective, "great": while it sounds lovely and simple, the honest truth is that it just is not in fact very accurate, assuming one is confining him or herself to the traditional English definition, and I suppose I ought to assume as much. Certainly parts of it were really great- I ran across the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge, ran on streets in Manhattan that had been closed off to traffic for the day as part of the city's Summer Streets initiative, ran through Greenwich, back around Brooklyn, in Prospect Park. I didn't feel like carrying water (perhaps that's why it wasn't so great?!?!) so I stopped halfway through and grabbed some ginger ale from a corner market- that was a highlight. I also saw some kids with Nebraska shirts on, so I stopped to tell them I was from Elkhorn, and they happened to know some people I went to high school with. That made me smile. But overall...I wasn't feeling super excited to be out there today. Some days are like that.
What struck me most about this morning's run was a particular moment around the three and half hour mark. It was familiar- I've had many, many moments similar to this particular one while out on training runs, but I really can't be reminded enough of the lesson borne in such moments. After 20 or so kind of mediocre feeling miles, I was kind of over it. Sure I had planned on running four and half hours, but seriously. I mean, what if, like, instead I walked for a while, and then I could finish the running later. Or really, what difference would it make if I just did a few less miles today...I mean...maybe it doesn't feel great because my body needs rest more than training this morning...and...it's hot!...maybe I should walk until I get to a shadier part of the path...am I copping out?!?!...maybe I should have had a better breakfast...maybe I just have to call it a wash this morning, because I haven't properly hydrated...blah, blah, BLAH. The old inner dialogue got going full force. Now please note at this point that I DO believe in taking a break when your body really needs it, and recognizing when this is in fact the case is a certain skill that one must develop. That said, I am well practiced in this skill- I know my body very well, and this morning, my muscles and joints and physiological systems were doing just fine. My mind, however, was melting. Disintegrating, falling apart, breaking into useless pieces. I stopped running. I walked for about six steps. And then, I got it together. Enough. Enough nonsense. I'm going to get this done. And that was it, and then I did, and that was that.
Forgive me for not having a more interesting motivational inner dialogue. But to me, this is part of the trick. This is part of me, this is part of life. It is unbelievably liberating to stop the debate, the dialogue, the endless chitter-chatter in our heads, and just DO. When I succeed at this, I feel lighter, more free, more capable and confident, more alive than at any other time. When I was young(er), my sister came home from a basketball camp with a piece of paper bearing the following words:
Some people want it to happen. Some people wish it would happen. Some people make it happen.
That grabbed me. I pinned it on my wall, and it became sort of a mantra for me.
It is simple.
Simple, however, does not mean easy. But not easy does not mean not possible. : )
(I am so good at all these words and definitions!)
So what is the relevance of all of this to The Long Run? This morning was the kind of training I love, the kind I think is most important. It was good and useful for my body no doubt, but more than anything, it was for my mind. (And we all know I need a LOT of training there. : ) )
Last Friday marked six weeks since I sent out my first TLR email, and last Tuesday marked eight weeks until I start the run. The running, I can do. I know it.
The fundraising part, I've got to buckle down and make happen. I've been thinking a lot, and talking a lot, and coming up with a lot of plans...and now it's time to get 'er done.
If you've already given, thank you. If you're thinking about it, get 'er done. If you can think of anybody else who can help us, who would want to be a part of this, reach out. Get on the phone, write an email, tell a friend over dinner. We can do this. I cannot do it myself. Part of what I need to make it happen is help. If you believe in this cause, if you believe in the power of knowledge, in the power of giving people the resources they need to make themselves better, the power of strong minds to make this world better, please help me help CAI help the world.
The time is now. Let's make this happen.
New lists will be up tomorrow evening, and again next Friday.
Meanwhile, may you feel the strength of love in mind, body and spirit
And...have a good weekend while you're at it. : )
