There is an old saying that “life happens while you are making plans.” I started this year with some rather lofty goals and plans. Some of these lofty goals included running 1200 miles, adding to my existing half-marathon challenge, and beginning to outline an autobiography. Slowly, these goals began to fall by the wayside. I’ll touch on them later. So lets talk about goals I can mark off the list.
4. Raise the $1300 I committed myself to raise for the Bell Runners
For those of you wondering, I met my goal for fundraising for the Bell Center thanks to your generosity. Together, we raised over $1400 for a great cause. Thank you once again. The Mercedes Half-Marathon was one of my most memorable runs. Wearing that red Bell Runner shirt was a real honor. I got cheered on along the whole route because I was wearing that red shirt. It helped me finish when I did not feel like it.
3. Run my first marathon
My intention when making this goal was to run a full marathon this fall. In the spirit of the title of this blog, things changed. Sometimes you bite off more then you can chew and I was afraid that is what I had done when I signed up for the Run for Kids Challenge at Oak Mountain State Park. Instead of attempting to run my first marathon, I attempted an ultra-marathon of 50 kilometers. That’s roughly 5 more miles than a marathon. I told almost no one about the attempt until I was over half way done with the race. Despite a leg injury, I finished my first ultra-marathon. The real awesome part was being surprised by my parents when I crossed the finish line. To date, this is the last organized race in which I have participated.
So what happened to the other goals?
Life happens when you are making plans. Three months ago today I started back to school. It is something I had thought about for awhile. On a Tuesday night I was challenged by a Dean to go back to school and on Wednesday morning I was enrolled into classes. Going back to school after a 10 year hiatus brings its own challenges. The biggest one for me was reading. For the past three months I’ve pretty much had a headache every day. At first it was do to reading. Now there seems to be consensus that they have continued due to a pinched nerve that was a result from poor posture related to… reading. How’s that for irony?
So with a change in plans my time for running and other hobbies greatly diminished. The headache didn’t help either. On May 3rd, I ran 31.07 miles in one race. Over the next 2 months, I ran a total of 28 miles. This included not running a single mile during the month of July. I watched several of my ambitious goals die. But out of death comes rebirth. I replaced them with a thirst for knowledge and academic achievement. I haven’t added any new formal goals, but I will.
So what’s next?
This summer I completed four prerequisite classes online so that I could start the MBA Program at the University of Montevallo this fall. I’ll be taking two classes in the evening as I continue pursuing further education. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. I haven’t sat in a classroom since April of 2004. However, I am looking forward to the challenge.
On a side note, I’m back for a third straight year with my SEC football prediction site, JP Predicts. My friends Ash, Nate, and Honest Abe are back this year as well. Last year I was the most accurate person of record (print or internet) when it came to predicting winners in SEC football games. I’m hoping to keep up that track record as we go into football season. So if you like football and you enjoy a good laugh, please check out our website at www.jppredicts.com or like us on facebook. Until next time…
Final Thoughts on a First Impression 