So here is a snapshot of what I have achieved:
#21. Gold Coast Australia 2011
#22. Chicago USA 2011
#23. Tokyo Japan 2012
#24. Los Angeles USA 2012
#25. Chicago USA 2012
Now between races 21 and 25 there were a few, a lot of challenges, more than i'd care to write about or relive.
5 Marathons in 18 months, I'm slowing down, they ranged from 3:24 to 5+hrs, my body went from fit and fantastic to feeling the pain (understatement of the century) and than back to better than ever!.
This blog has been primarily about keeping myself motivated enough to stay on top of the challenges that life throws at us, its helped me re-define the values I posses as a person, and re-assess what we do in life, how we tackle the challenges we come up against and be the best person I can possibly be in life.
The marathon is a challenge I love dearly and will always run one while I am able on a annual basis, what the marathon has taught me as a person is that our character is defined not only when times are good but its more important when times are tough, its in that final 2 kilometers running, being in the middle of the ocean and having to paddle back to shore on a kyak that we find our most trying times, keep a calm head and bring that journey home, now that is not always as fast as we would like, or with the elegance we desire, but we bring it home.
For me back in 2009, when the chips were down, I seemingly laughed at the idea of running even a half marathon, I laughed at the idea of doing one loop of Albert Park, impossible, simply not to be, everything seemed far too difficult and almost impossible.
One of the biggest lessons I have been able to learn from this last few years is that your best friends in the world can be anyone, you might exchange an email, twitter or talk on the phone, call in for dinner when your passing through, its the people that like to see you succeed, offer you words of encouragement when you don't and give you a helping hand when you most need it, in turn you get to repay the favor, and some of the people that surprise you the most are those you least expect.
For me the challenge has been two fold, how do you be authentic and not just share the good times with those closest but the challenges.
Life will always be full of challenges, we will want to run faster, run further, be thinner, travel more, spend more time with friends, face health challenges, start a new hobby, meet a new friend, but for me the key is going to always to: be the best I can possibly be, I might never be the fastest, I might not always finish every race (although it better not be more than once) but I will give it my all.
In 2013 I am going to take on a couple of key challenges:
1. Run Chicago 2013 @ 3hr 00m (god willing)
2. Study with the aim of passing every subject...... (Write a decent essay)
3. Finish off some climbs (time permitting)
But more importantly I set my new years resolution as :
"Life is full of opportunity, 2013 is all about making the most of them, connecting with friends, exploring new places and giving back... "
The most important resolution is above all else to me in 2013 is about giving back, that simply means when I meet some one I can help: don't look the other way, when I run a race see if what I can donate to a worthy charity, When a friend asks for a hand, give it..... its not always going to be easy but try and more times than not we hope that we will succeed, no one is perfect.
Life has meaning which we find through the values we posses, our meaning than gives us a purpose.
I am looking forward to smashing my 3hr 24m marathon from 2012, kyaking a ferocious ocean (the two most exciting challenges I love), climbing a mountain and living life as the best person I can be while I continue to find that purpose.
Looking forward to the best 2013.
Cheers
Jeff
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