A Picture and a Thought - 1

"What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret.  And not one of the was prepared, truly prepared to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart-rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes.  The Trial of Miles, Miles of Trails.  How could they be expected to understand that?" -Once A Runner, John L. Parker, Jr.

Sometimes it just takes one...

Life has been seriously crazy recently.  A lot has been packed into the days since last Sunday.  I was involved in an accident yesterday on the interstate on my way home from work.  I won't say much more other than both the other driver and I are all right.  I also participated in my first corporate 5k, a road race in Middletown.  It was really fun and I was able to run with 33 of my co-workers and we even managed to take home the team trophy!

It was warm and hilly, but I optimistically estimated that I'd be able to run about 17:15 given the shape that I'm in and the conditions.  The race started out quickly: the leaders passed the first mile in 5:05 and I was about 12 seconds behind.  I thought that was a bit too quick but at that point it's too late.  I gritted my teeth against the imminent crash.  The second mile was hillier and quite a bit slower, as I passed it in 11:07.  At that point, I decided that I felt quite a bit better than I really deserved to, despite the burning in my quads from the previous hill.  I started to pick it up and managed to pass another runner in the last 1.1 miles to finish in 17:07 and 5th place.

What did I learn?  I am in better racing shape than I expected which I think is due to the fitness I built up in the past couple years rather than any training I've done (or haven't done) recently.  I missed running yesterday due to the accident, but I am still confident that I can hit 50 for the week.

My life is crazy and busy and things are always cropping up but I know that if I keep my nose to the grindstone and try always to do the right thing that everything will always work out.

-Lane

No Matter What, The Lawn Still Needs to Be Mowed

A wise man (my high school cross-country coach) once told said: "No matter what happens on Saturday, the lawn still needs to be mowed."  This statement came at the end of a story about the coach on the Sunday after the track and field state championship in two consecutive years.  The first year, the track team had been just barely edged out of first place by a rival team.  Coach was out mowing the lawn the next day.  The following year, the team won the state championship.  Despite his happiness, Coach was still out mowing the lawn the next day.  Upon reflection, he came up with the statement above.

I am become Death,
destroyer of dandelions

Always looking for deeper meaning in the mundane experiences of my life, I thought more about this statement and what it might mean.  I found that in my life, no matter what happened, either good or bad, there were a certain number of things that I had to continue doing.  During college, I had to do homework, work on projects, and take tests.  These were non-negotiable activities, so a couple hours after I proposed to my fiancée, we were both back in the library, hitting the books.  I had finals after my grandfather died and a race the day after my grandmother died.  And now, after graduating from college, I am going to (literally) mow the lawn.

Instead of feeling brought down by the responsibilities of day-to-day life,  they ground me and keep me moving forward in my life.  I can't afford to wallow in my sorrows or rest on my laurels because life will pass me by.  So in a couple hours, the lawn in the picture above will be empty of dandelions and I will have moved a little bit further from the excitement of graduation and a little bit closer to the next big event in my life, whatever that may be.