You're the Inspiration

You have to want to improve yourself for you. If your only motivation is external influences, you'll fail. Or at least you won't truly appreciate the effort. You’ll maybe even begrudge the work and the influence. But you can find inspiration in others, through their personal endeavors, for example.



I was even helpful, providing Brian with the link to a
Couch to 5K program for getting back into running.

I know I need to eat more healthy (healthily? Healthfully?). So I'm trying, with small success so far, but it helps to have friends who do it. Their successful efforts serve as an inspiration. And their cajoling and admonitions help, too. I suppose that's a little like an addiction recovery support system.

And you know what else helps? Being someone else's inspiration. We all know we influence our friends and family, to lesser and greater degrees. But we’re often not truly conscious of it. So we still curse in front of our children and fly into fits of road rage with our buddies in the car. But something changes when you become consciously aware of your influence on another person.

When my youngest daughter — then a toddler — responded to her mother's inquiry about my frustration with a home project using my own words, I took note. Not that I stopped entirely, but I tried to watch it.

“Dad's trying to fix the light switch goddammit shit,” she called earnestly and innocently as she made her way downstairs, one step at a time, kiddie-style.

Oops.

I've been inconsistent with my running for the past year-plus. So when I posted today's run on Facebook and received a nice comment from a high school buddy I sort of put myself on notice.

“You (are) starting to become an inspiration to me. I would like to run again, but so far, I do fast walks. I need to get in better shape and health. High School was soooo long ago!” wrote Brian Bailey.

Brian ran cross country at GHS back in the day (if you don't know when that was, I ain't tellin' — but he's right, it was soooo long ago). I can remember him in those grey sweats, all lean and wiry. Running was not my bag, baby. Not back then. So for Brian to say I am something of an inspiration to him, well, I feel I have to live up to the billing now. I need to be inspiring.

That means I need to keep it up. I’ve run twice this week. I used to do three runs a week like clockwork – Monday, Wednesday and Friday – and occasionally add a day. I need to return to that rhythm, whether it’s M-W-F or T-TH-S or whatever. I need three days a week. I need consistency. I need the freakin’ exercise. And I need to work on my nutrition.

 

Bleeding nipples. I also need Body Glide.

 I’ll keep ya posted.

Today's Stats (Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013)

Temp: 59 degrees F
Distance: 3.34 miles
Weekly Distance: 7.08 miles       
Treasure: 1 bloody nipple; inspiration; 24 cans.

iPod Playlist (Shuffle)

I Will - Matchbox Twenty
Come Go WithMe - Expose
We Will Not Be Lovers - The Waterboys
Rio - Duran Duran
One Tree Hill - U2
Alice - Avril Lavigne (I hope you get the PooPourri ad)
Breathe (In the Air) - Pink Floyd
Just StayHere Tonight - Augustana
Top Jimmy - Van Halen