Quotes of the Week from Me:

“And one day, you’ll wake to all the right peaces.”

“Is the finish line you picture just another milestone?”

“Another brand-new day is yours.”

Quotes of the Week from Others:

“Courage is an expression of fear. You need courage only because there is fear.” – Sadhguru

“Ageing is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you should have been.”

– David Bowie

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” – Charles Dickens

Quick Optimism:

Oubaitori (ancient Japanese idiom):

(n.) the idea that people, like flowers, bloom in their own time and take their own individual journeys; the acceptance of not comparing oneself to others and focusing on one’s own uniqueness.

Oubaitori comes from the kanji for the four trees that bloom in spring: cherry blossoms, plum, peach, and apricot. The flowers bloom on their own time, like people.

Question of the Week:

“Is the finish line you picture just another milestone?”

I am currently training for a half marathon and as a non-runner thought it’d be fun to weigh in on what I have learned about running recently. I have a bit of an advantage since my wife ran track and cross country at Cornell, however, my request was granted when I asked for a beginner’s program.

For those of you wondering how to start a new version of exercise, you’d be surprised how effective the simplest movements and programs can be; it really does come down to effort and commitment. Cliché. True.

I used to run a lot growing up. I’d run after a ball. I’d run to defend offensive players trying to score against my team. I’d run races against kids in the neighborhood. But running far? For fun? The farther the… more fun? Nope. That was never me. And then throw in the fact that you could always run farther, faster – my favorite joke was that distance runners were the fastest slow people.

It was always impressive, just never my goal. I liked explosiveness. I looked up to Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter and running backs in the NFL. You know, the guys who could run fast, jump high, and hit and throw a baseball really far.

Anyway, a bunch of weeks ago I committed to running 3 times per week on Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday. I started at 2 miles, three times per week.

Now, Sundays are for 2-4 miles depending on how I feel. Tuesdays are now between 6-8 miles, again depending how I feel. Finally, Fridays are “long run days”, which are now between 9 and 11 miles.

As I approach the end of all this running, it occurred to me the other day that I can go much farther than I ever have. It makes sense. You run more, you can run more. Duh. But it’s still exciting and something I think is more relatable in some ways than if you were to hear about someone who runs marathons all the time talking about their training.

If you have never run before, you might not want to read about someone cranking out 50 miles per week. I know it wasn’t helpful for me when I started. Again, it is very impressive but compared to my 6 miles per week initially, I had no idea how to get better.

Once I felt comfortable enough to start a program, I bumped the mileage up little by little.

If your next question is about my pace, I wouldn’t even go there. I have learned that running is much more than competition, though I enjoy that part too, and I have gotten much faster (faster at being slow). What I have learned most is that my previous finish lines are now just new milestones, new mile-markers, and I am having a blast learning a new skill and type of training. I recommend you do too!

Get outside and get active any way you can!