Inspiring Marathon Story

Have you ever thought about running a marathon? Yea, no problem.

How about a muddy, dirty, trail marathon? Yea, piece of cake.

How about a muddy, dirty, trail marathon WITH your spouse and five kids? WHAT! Are you NUTS??

That's right. Last weekend the Barron family (all seven of them) completed the Grasslands Trail Run, 26.2 miles of mud, dirt, sweat, and probably some tears.

If they can do it, you can too!

Watch this...

Discipline

I am finally over my little pity party and I am back to training. I went to the grocery store this morning and stocked up on fruits, vegetables, and lean meats, basically what I was eating while I was on the Paleo Diet for Athletes. And I went out for a short trail run this morning, more of a jog actually, just to get things moving again. I will start working on building my foundation next week. It's all about getting back into the habit. It's about discipline. 

For those that know the Northshore Trail, following is a picture from the crossing near the concrete bridge. Usually you can step on a couple of rocks to cross this creak. But today I but it was knee high, the result of some heavy rains over the last week or so. 

Excuses, excuses

That is all I really have... excuses, excuses. I would like to think of them as reasons... reasons why I haven't been blogging regularly, reasons I haven't been running regularly, reasons I haven't been eating properly, reasons, reasons. But if I am being honest, they are only excuses.

Why is it much easier to be undisciplined? Why does crap food taste better than good food? Why does it feel better to rest than to exercise? Does it ever get to the point where it is easier to make the right decisions? Does it every become natural to want to eat well and run for mile after mile? Or am I doomed to a never ending cycle of good days and bad. Of good months and bad. Of good years and bad.

I don't know of an easy solution. I just know that I am happier when I know I am making good decisions. So why do I do these destructive things to myself? Why do I make these bad decisions? It is my undisciplined self winning over me. It is my undisciplined self that is making me do the things I do not want to do.

So I can either let my undisciplined self continue to rule over me or I can take a stand, slay the monster and get back on my course. I realize the choice is solely mine, I just need to make the decision who I want to be--the default undisciplined self or the self that rises above, to accomplish that which is beyond my normal reach.

The only thing achieved in life without effort is failure.

I will shut up now and go for a run.