Do you think you will......

I was teaching a final year high school class today and as they are only a few weeks away from graduating I've been taking them aside one by one and asking them questions about their future. This has been for my benefit perhaps more than theirs.

Here are some of the questions I put to them today.
"In your future do you think you will:

run a marathon?"
have children?"
learn to play a musical instrument?"
take a trip to Europe?"
own your own business?"

After they answer I ask follow up questions but apart from the students simply practicing using the language I've found this exercise illuminating. Basically nobody imagines themselves running a marathon in their future. This is, I guess, because they are simply not interested in running or they can't imagine doing something that seems impossible to them now.

I think I would have answered in the negative too at seventeen but I hope they will try one day and come to know the reasons I love running so much.

The following quote by Christopher Reeve explains much. He says: "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."

For me I love running because I can challenge myself and what I once thought impossible can be made, through effort and sacrifice, possible.

Living a good life is all about doing now what we thought we couldn't do before. Or at least trying to ;)

All things considered

Had my first race, a 10k, today. That is the first since before the summer here. Last race was Nagano marathon in July.

Anyway, on Thursday night I slipped coming out of the shower and twisted my ankle. It was pretty bloody painful at the time and next morning I couldn't put much weight on it without screaming like a banchee. Part of what I wanted to scream about was: Why does this sort of shit always happen so close to race days #%&!?

I thought my race for this weekend had finished right there, but with a program of ice and hot baths I felt right to go on the day, two days later.

I started the race with a 4:05 first K slowed by the large crowd. The 2nd K was better a 3:39 and a 4:00 min K the 3rd one. From about the 6th K I felt a little out of wind, first race blues or blews, but mostly I was starting to feel my ankle and it was weakening me enough that I started to bleed seconds.

I finished in 41:58 the best I could do today. Still all things considered I reckon that was a pretty good time.

After the event my wife, the kids and I went to a theme park and had a very nice BBQ lunch down by the ocean. It was a bloody terrific day ;)

Now to continue the training. I need to lose at least 5kgs before my full marathon in Dec and get in a few good/hard speedwork sessions in before my next half marathon event on Nov 11th.

 

 

 

Is anybody out there?

Hi, just a bit of housekeeping. Does it seem quiet in bloggsville or is it only me?

Maybe just a dry patch during the change of seasons? I wouldn't be so worried but I just had a look at Ewens blog and he has only 1 comment, mine, for the last couple of days. This coming from Mr. blogopular who normally gets 20 comments.

Now I'm thinking twice about uploading my lastest video I took of an open leg sore that was going to be titled "Does this look infected to you?"

Anyway, I hope you'll all come back when you can. One thing I really wanted to ask, seriously, is does anybody else have trouble when logging on to Robert Song's or Tugerranong Don's blog? Cause 9 times out of ten when I visit these blogs my computer just shuts down seconds into reading. While it always boots itself back up I don't understand why it does this and only to these two blogs. It's been like this with Roberts blog for 8 months and TD's for about 6 months. I can only comment on them at the computer at work my home one doesn't want to view there work for some reason.

Anyway, let me know if you know. And if you're caught under a overturned bulldozer and can't blog at the moment I fully understand ;)

Just because you can see thru it....

On my never ending quest for self improvement I came across this clip. Definitely found this a help and I'm now looking to avoid all future "retard traps." I will try to think about any so called traps that us runners could try to avoid. Please also let me know if you can think of any.

By the way how's my penmanship?

Gogo

It's been a strange week and it's only half way over. Some rough classes at school. See youtube clip for example. Boy "Gogo Yubari" the Japanese school girl from "Kill Bill" has nothing on some of my students. They can be rough ;)

Also came down with a cold on Sunday night after my 27K long run, maybe in sympathy with Tesso and I haven't run at all for a couple of days. Still feel better already after a few early nights.

Well it hasn't been all bad news as I found out that I had some "lost super" still on hold for me and it is possible to make claim to it. Now that put some balance back in the week ;) Think I'll go and buy a new pair of runners to celebrate!

Born to run

We've got a lot of friends running the Melbourne Marathon tomorrow. So I my song of the month is posted with them in mind. I know not everyone is 100% ready for it but I know you will all show at least as much grit as bruce did. All the best!!

Time for a cool change

 

Today marks 12 weeks before my next full marathon, so it's full steam ahead with training from this point on. The temperature has dropped between 5 and 10 degrees since last week and with mornings around 20 degrees and clear I'm really starting to get into my runs of late. Those last few months of sauna room temperatures certainly took their toll on my motivation.

By the middle of next month the foliage will be changing to golden brown, red and bright yellow and I'll be so fit that my old PBs will be dropping like the leaves themselves.

That's the plan anyway.