Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Another Day, Another Marathon Training Starts

As I promised in my last post, I am ready to go over the goals I set for myself in 2013.  I sat down and cleared a good half an hour for research.

Step 1: Find the post showing my 2013 goals

Well.. It turns out I didn't write one...

I did, however, write a post of the races I was going to do in 2013.  Aside from not completing an Olympic triathlon, I ran every race I had planned.  Booyah!!

Enough talking about 2013.  That crappy year is crap.  It's over.  Done.  Why revisit it?  We move FORWARD!

My marathon training started today.  4 miles.  Boom.  Nailed it.  It was pretty chilly.  Single digit wind chill when yesterday it was in the 40s/50s.  It wasn't too bad, actually.  I sweat a little less in the Arctic Vortex, but not by much.  After my run I did the usual "walk up to my wife and try to hug or kiss her and she gives me a disgusted look".  Classic Aimee.  What usually follows is a trip to the shower and this time my youngest daughter came up, gave me a hug, and put her head on me.  I asked my oldest for a hug "eww stinky!" while waiving her hand in front of her nose.  At least Addison loves me.  Pretty bold statement from a kid who pooped in her pants no more than a year ago...

Let's put down a goal that I can look back at in 2015!  I have the normal hopes of running a better marathon and getting better at swimming.  Throw in there wanting to do some local races and meet some fellow runners/triathletes in the area.  Those are all well and good but there's been something on my mind lately.

I want to be a better father.

In Donald Miller's "To Own a Dragon" he writes about living fatherless.  I didn't live fatherless until I was 17 but I felt the pain.  One part is about the kids of the father comparing their fatherless, or damaged father relationship, to their relationship with God.  It makes sense.  God is referenced as the father many times throughout the Bible so what word would hit you the hardest after living a life without proper fathering?  I look at my few years as a father and I feel like I'm doing alright.  Most of the time I have no idea what I'm doing, which is supposedly what parenting is all about, but I still think there's room for improvement.  I know that no one is perfect but there could be less training runs when I could be spending time with my wife and kids.  I could be more patient and not jump from 1 to 10 on the drop of a hat (or the throw of a toy).  I could turn off the TV or get away from the computer/phone to read or color with my girls.  I could not skip going to church to do a race.  I could be a better husband to my wife.  I could be in the Bible more and I could be a better spiritual leader of my home.

I say "I could" on all of those items.  In 2015 I will look back and say "I did".  Keep me accountable. If you have a goal, and you want accountability, I'll do the same for you.

Thank you for reading.  Let's kick 2014's arse.