Perspectives
As I was running on this hot, humid evening I was feeling pretty good about myself. I'm nursing day two of a cold, (or some sort of wicked allergies) but still managed to bike to work and then run two miles when I got home. The 5K race is just a week away, and I hadn't run since Tuesday, so was feeling the need to get one in.
So I'm chugging along at about the one mile mark, feeling a bit gassed because of the congestion in my head, but overall, pretty proud of myself. Then I passed a truck parked in the Carroll College parking lot that had about 5 people gathered round it and they all had "Volunteer" T-Shirts on.
"Hmmm..." I thought, what's that all about?
On the next block, I passed a pack of three runners headed toward the truck. They looked exhausted and were obviously running more than a 3K. Here I find out that they're running a 200 mile Madison to Chicago race. http://mc200.com/
It was a wee bit on the humbling side. Here I was all proud about mile one of a whole two miles, and these people were running from Madison to Chi-Town. Now you could have a team of 12 people to do it, but even so, do the math. That's a marathon a piece.
Needless to say it brought me back down to earth in a hurry. It's not that I'm ashamed that I'm 48 and training for a race, but it's like everything in this world, you think you've got something fine and someone else comes along with something finer. Granted these runners were mostly twenty and thirty-somethings, but I was still a bit awestruck.
So I'm chugging along at about the one mile mark, feeling a bit gassed because of the congestion in my head, but overall, pretty proud of myself. Then I passed a truck parked in the Carroll College parking lot that had about 5 people gathered round it and they all had "Volunteer" T-Shirts on.
"Hmmm..." I thought, what's that all about?
On the next block, I passed a pack of three runners headed toward the truck. They looked exhausted and were obviously running more than a 3K. Here I find out that they're running a 200 mile Madison to Chicago race. http://mc200.com/
It was a wee bit on the humbling side. Here I was all proud about mile one of a whole two miles, and these people were running from Madison to Chi-Town. Now you could have a team of 12 people to do it, but even so, do the math. That's a marathon a piece.
Needless to say it brought me back down to earth in a hurry. It's not that I'm ashamed that I'm 48 and training for a race, but it's like everything in this world, you think you've got something fine and someone else comes along with something finer. Granted these runners were mostly twenty and thirty-somethings, but I was still a bit awestruck.
I hope to be VERY active in my retirement too, just as I am now. I'll be one of those guys who has the "big one" on his bike in a biathlon or canoeing across Lake of the Woods or something. At least I'll be doing something I love and it'll beat sitting at home perserverating about what hurts today or which prescription I need to take and when. I know, easier said now, but those are my intentions anyways. Lord knows I have the discipline to carry them out too. Ask my wife about that.
Anyways it gave me a bit of perspective. It was a little like the time I was coming back from a GIS conference in Huntsville, AL. I was feeling among the jet-setters and power players of the world, pretty proud of myself. I struck up a conversation with the guy next to me, told him I was a GIS Analyst here for the software conference, like that's all impressive. Then I asked him what he did and he said he was an astrophysicist for NASA.
Suddenly a GIS Analyst dropped a notch or two. This guy likely makes in a month what I make in a year.
But it was a good lesson in humility and shutting up. People don't care what you know or who you know, or what you own, at least not the people you want to associate with.
Besides one day you might find your marathon run is nothing like the parapalegic guy who did it running with his hands.
And that's my perspective on a Friday...
Keep It Real.
Get over yourself.
Your not that great, but God loves you anyway.
And that's plenty enough for me.
Blogging off...
Anyways it gave me a bit of perspective. It was a little like the time I was coming back from a GIS conference in Huntsville, AL. I was feeling among the jet-setters and power players of the world, pretty proud of myself. I struck up a conversation with the guy next to me, told him I was a GIS Analyst here for the software conference, like that's all impressive. Then I asked him what he did and he said he was an astrophysicist for NASA.
Suddenly a GIS Analyst dropped a notch or two. This guy likely makes in a month what I make in a year.
But it was a good lesson in humility and shutting up. People don't care what you know or who you know, or what you own, at least not the people you want to associate with.
Besides one day you might find your marathon run is nothing like the parapalegic guy who did it running with his hands.
And that's my perspective on a Friday...
Keep It Real.
Get over yourself.
Your not that great, but God loves you anyway.
And that's plenty enough for me.
Blogging off...
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