A World Without Ends

I have great news!  I'm alive!

Final time for my marathon run: 4:29:04.  I was extremely excited to know I made it under four and a half hours.  The whole time I was running that's what I was thinking: I really want to get under four and half.

All in all, great experience.  I was REALLY starting to feel it around mile 24, but by then you're all in.  Nothing left to do but move forward and hope that your limp body doesn't fall to the pavement before you cross the finish line.  And if it does, hope that its at a point where the momentum of your tumbling carries you over the line.  What a great photo finish that would be.

Most would say that I'm a glutton for punishment, but I truly enjoyed myself, and not just because I accomplished a life goal.  The support of friends and family I had backing me, that ridiculous poster my friend Phil made for the event, and all the other inspiring/ridiculous posters people had made for runners all made the experience unforgettable.  A few of my favorite signs/posters:

"Worst parade ever."

"There will come a day when you can no longer do this.  Today is not that day."

"Because 26.3 miles would just be CRAZY."

"I'm lazy."

And a few others which I've forgotten in the foggy haze of my post adrenal mind.  But the one in the photo above was the one I was looking for, because it meant, "Hey, there's some blue Gatorade and a Cliff bar up ahead."

The question is, "Now what?"  I'm done.  Months of training, treating my body as well as I could, and following through with my mad dream to the end has paid off.  The race is over.  Mom suggested Boston Marathon.  The qualifying time is three hours and ten minutes.  I have to beat my time by an hour and nineteen minutes.  I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon.

I will admit, this has given me more of a vigor for life,  not wanting to be complacent but to push the limits as far as they can go, no matter what I do.  Two years ago, had you told me I was to finish a marathon, I would've laughed.  Or maybe I would've have believed you, yet still been shocked.  Until a couple years ago, a little over two miles on the tredmill was all I could do before I became winded.  That was my limit, until I created new limits.   So, a limit isn't really a limit at all in some circumstances.  A limit tells you what you can do right now.  But it stands there, waiting for you to push past it, and when you do it has to catch up in order to stop you again.  And again.  And again.

So seriously, not trying to be a motivational poster in the 90's, but you really can do whatever you want.  You simply have to be willing to work.  You can't expect it to just happen.  It took a year and a half to go from two miles to 26.2 miles.  It was tough.  There were bad days that involved the walk of shame to finish.  Then there were days where I felt like I could run through brick walls and keep going.  There is no end.  You make your own ends.

Most things are mental anyway.  We think it's impossible.  Running a marathon sounds hard, I agree.  Truly, its one of the easiest things.  You put one foot in front of the other.  That's it.  You don't have to do anything else.  You don't have to play an intricate line on the piano.  You don't have to solve a difficult physics equation.  You don't have to perform brain surgeory.  You just have to put one foot in front of the other.  Pain, discomfort, that's all mental.  You can over come that, unless your leg actually snaps in two.  But if you keep running, I'd really really respect you.  That's hardcore.

In other news, my mother tells me my Aunt Pegge has sent me a typewriter owned by my great-grandfather, Silas Clark.  Really excited about that.  So, for any of your who legitamately planned to send me a typewriter and looked through all the local antique malls, I'm grateful but the need is no longer present.  You can go back about your business.  I'll ask for something later though.

That's all I have.  Glad we had this little pep talk.  Take care.  Push those limits.

Peace.

Updates. Updates for Everyone.

In the immortal words of the Dragoon soldiers from Starcraft: "I have returned".

Wow, it doesn't seem like that long, but it has been over three months.  Three months.  That's one third of a baby, if you catch my drift.

I'd apologize, but we all expect it now.  It's like the tides.

Honestly, not very much has happened.  I've ran many miles these last three months.  I haven't logged the miles I've covered over the course of all this training, but there was a week near the end of March in which I did about 65 miles total.  So, my feet have slammed into the ground many times in an effort to propel the rest of the body great lengths.  Let's not forget legs either.  Thanks guys.

The race is tomorrow, April 15th, 2012 at 7am.  I can't tell you how excited I am to do it, which is why I also don't want it to happen tomorrow.  After all this hype, building myself up to accomplish this one dream, it'll all be over.  What then?  What's after this?  I feel this urge to continue to push the limits.  I've been tested this far; let see just how much more I can do.  But we'll consider this further at another time.  First, the marathon.

Our office moved.  I no longer have to combat downtown traffic and travel on foot a half mile from parking lot to office and then back again.  As a matter of fact, our new office is located on Eden Theological Seminary campus, which is directly across from Webster University in (you guessed it) Webster Groves.  I sometimes feel like I'm circling around my own life.  Around and around.

It's a nice place.  The commute is easier, and I don't have to pay for parking.  The new office is much smaller, which makes more sense since there's so few of us to begin with.  Other than that, work is work.  I do it a couple times a week and that's about it.  I did get to train a couple of our staff on this online database, Biblio.  That made me feel a little significant.

That's it.  Seriously.  My muse hopped a train out of town, so all I have for you is the bare bones.  No interesting anecdotes.

But come back sometime.  I might have more to share three months from now.

Peace.

New Year's and Foreign Affairs

According to my stats I'm really popular in Germany.  Fantastic.  More Germans are reading my blog than Americans lately, and hopfully I won't scare you guys away like the Chinese and South Koreans.  Maybe I can be popular over there like David Hasselhoff.  I'm not German in the slightest (to my knowledge) and do not know how to speak the native tounge, BUT perhaps we can strike a deal?  I'll be witty, lovable and adorable, you guys accept me into your fold and I'll hang out there for a few years?  Eh? Eh? 

It's okay.  You don't have to answer right now.  Just....think about it.  Okay?

Well, its a new year readers.  Six days in and I'm already sick of hearing about this 2012/Apocalypse business.  Yes, apparently the Mayan calendar coincidentally stopped on December 21st, 2012, the day before my 26th birthday.  But, for my sake Pop Culture, I think you should shut up about it.  It was funny five years ago when people were like, "Hey...did you notice the end of the world is coming up?  Better start writing books and making movies if we going to be topical."  Then there's the History Channel.  I LOVE the History Channel.  But only when it talks about the 1960's, space, or feudal Japan.  When it starts using terms such as, "Armaggedon" "Illuminati" "Templar" "Conspiracy" "Aliens"...then I know its time depart and hope that The Best of the Joy of Painting is on.

Other than that, this new year has been great.  The sun has been shining, and the temperature is perfect.  This is the winter I've dreamed of for a few years now.  If winter weather would just remain between 55 degrees and 65 degrees, I would love it.  And you know what?  My dream has finally come true.  It's given me the opportunity to run, which I did with my Vibrams a couple days ago (walking like C-3PO though).  I don't care if theres global warming and melting ice caps.  Right now, the weather is lovely.  I just have this disconcerting feeling we'll pay dearly for this nice weather.  Like an ice storm.  Or locusts.  But I'm optimistic.

Not much to update.  I left the tea business last Saturday.  So far, I feel great.  I wasn't sure it was the right move, but why stay someplace to stagnate?  Life wasn't really moving forward.  And thats the focus for this year, move life forward.  That's kinda been my mantra the last couple years, but I think I'm serious this time.  

What are your New Year's resolutions and/or big plans for the new year?  I would love to hear them. 

Anyway, that's pretty much it.  Really I just wanted to write how excited that Germans frequent my page more than my American friends.  Please continue to return.  Seriously.

Take care readers.  Enjoy the new year!