Thank you I-Pod....

The last month has been pretty brutal for my training...Why?  Well I never really took a break after the marathon...Instead I immediately jumped into the maintaining my miles for the next marathon on June 26th...So my feet have hurt, my achilles have hurt etc.  What did I do...Nothing, just have kept running...

Then today happened...I was supposed to do a 20 miler...supposed to do...That sounds so funny...Like anything less would be a failure...NOT...This 20 was already starting off bad, I had a great late night last night catching up with an old college friend...So I was a little tired this morning...

So I started out the run with all of the usual suspects, the water, jelly beans etc.  and of course my I-pod...The first 8 miles were great....then it happened...the I-pod died....actually the battery did...and I immediately felt the pain, tiredness and lack of energy kick in as I struggled through the next 2 miles...but what I did not know was that it would be the best two miles mentally that I had experienced in quite some time.

Rewind 3 years ago...the day after the Super Bowl in 2007....This was the day that I changed my life...Yes, I know that I have told this story before, but this time is different...The reason I changed my life originally was because I had a fear that I was going to die before ever seeing my children grow old, walk down the aisle, be a grandpa, celebrate my 10th, 15th, 20th etc.  Wedding Anniversary with Vanessa.... Yes, I know that anything can happen, but I had control of this...I had control of my weight, so that is why I started Running, and Running and Running...

Today though I realized that in running, running and running some more I have started to now jeopardize being able to do those things again...I have stopped listing to my injuries and have for reasons yet to be determined started to compete, compete and compete again with myself...I have always thrived on competition, loved competition and still do...but I have to remember to keep it in perspective, and make sure that my priorities are right....and no I have not been neglecting my family, but I do not want to start to or cause myself to by taking unnecessary risks...

That being said, I am going to switch my entry for the Marathon at the end of the month to a Half-Marathon entry....Why?  Because my body is telling me so...if I limp while running I am going to limp while playing with the kids etc.  So instead of running two marathons in two months I am going to go for setting two PB's in 2 months...a Marathon PB and a Half-Marathon PB...More Realistic?? Of Course??  But will it also allow my body to heal? Yes... Allow me more time with the family?? Yes...Which was why I started this journey in the first place...

So as I look forward to the year in advance and what races I will be competing in, I am changing my goals....Goal #1: Remember why I started this in the first place..#2: Spend more time with family #3: Set a PB on June 26th in the Half Marathon...#4: Set a PB in the Marathon in October at the Portland Marathon....

So thank you I-Pod for giving me 2 miles of perspective...