Monday, January 18, 2010

Finally


Well I finally got out there and ran my first run of 2010. Yesterday I was back in my hometown of Berea and decided I needed to get my ass out there, so Viper and I hit the pavement in my hometown neighborhood and off we went. I don't know if it was the excitement of finally getting out or if it was the fear of an old high school classmate seeing me run, but I bounded out at a pace that was more fitting of the Vip and not of me. But in good form I kept going after that first too fast mile (with some encouragement) and completed my short little jaunt around Berea. The strange part of the run - the fog. There was a weird winter fog permeating the streets and it was pretty darn dense. Maybe not being able to see too far ahead of you when running is a good thing? Regardless, I am quite happy that I finally got my ass back into gear. And today? Well... the legs are a bit sore, but it's that "hurt so good" kind of pain.

Now that I've gotten myself going again... what to expect.

Hell if I know. I've been trying to find some inner peace as of late - the stress of thesis deadlines is really starting to get to me and the semester starts this week. With more students than last semester I'm anxious and after a month and some odd days off I'm strangely nervous to get in front of the classroom again. I haven't set any running goals yet because I fear a goal overload. I have teaching goals and thesis goals and graduation goals and health/weight goals... and now running goals?

Seriously. Can a person have too many goals? This zen blog says so, but is that really my only option - one at a time?

So I am soliciting the help of this online community of running crazies. What do you think? Can I make multiple goals for myself without going nuts and short circuiting? How do you handle stress and getting multiple tasks/goals (i.e. thesis, work, running) done? And please remember, I'm one of those annoying perfectionist types. Damn my need to always be awesome.

I'll take all the help I can get!



I just had to post of pic of Dobson the wonder puppy! :-) Four months old and he's nearly 40 pounds!

4 comments:

  1. That first run of the year always gets me excited, whether it's been two days or two weeks (or even two months) since my last run. You did great. Let's achieve some goals this year! But not too many ...

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  2. FWIW I'd aim for three-five BIG goals. More than that seems to cause either relentless anxiety or unstoppable meandering/lack of focus.

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  3. I agree with Mr. Loser. Also, some of your goals are actually stepping stones to larger ones, i.e. completing the thesis is part of your graduation goal and running regularly is part of your health/weight goals.

    I really like Zen Habits, but I find that I can often focus on two different goals at the same time, as long as they are in different spheres, like health/fitness and academic. Just make sure you realize all the little steps involved in each and then tackle each step separately.

    Good luck!

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  4. have as many goals as you want. hell i listed a goal to fly somewhere b/c i'm starting to feel the travel bug. i do normally like zen habits though.

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