A few days ago I decided as a course of action that I needed to slay a dragon, or at least a small little tiny one. Still fierce, but easier to kill. Not so intimidating. I needed a win. So I picked something pretty hard and decided to focus myself on it and see if I could defeat it. First off – let me just say that the 365 commitment is already a dragon slaying in progress. I have never done anything good consistently for 60 days in a row and here I am two days away!
So the small dragon I wanted to try to slay was…..running. Yes, I hate running. All the running geeks I see annoy me. I see them hanging out in their running shoes, and designer running clothes always looking like they just got done with a 5K run. They are always really fit looking and I have always wanted to have a habit like that. So I have tried several times, always leading to failure – because I just plain hate running. It hurts, it make me feel like I am going to die, I struggle to breathe and my muscles and joints scream – STOP NOW!! Yet still, I can visually see the benefit to running. It is a cheap form of exercise. It is simple. You can do it anywhere. You do not need any really special equipment. It is probably the purest form of exercise.
I did not write about this, for fear of failure, but I started 5 days ago. I set small goals to try to motivate myself:
Day 1 – Run to the mailbox (that was brutal, but I did it)
Day 2 – Run to the end of the street (muscles were sore but I pushed forward)
Day 3 – Run to the entrance to my neighborhood – I did it and I did it in the rain!
Day 4 – Run to the first major cross street – I looked like an idiot gasping for breath as everyone was getting ready to commute to work
Day 5 – That is today – I ran to the Chevron gas station. I did it. I never thought it possible, but I basically ran for 1/2 a mile.
Small ferocious dragon slain. I am going to call him Chevron. That is right, I own Chevron. He has nothing on me now and he seems like a small cute fluffy pet dragon now and not as intimidating.
I am looking forward to the next dragon on Day 10 – The Bus Station, then the Lake, then the Entire Block.
Who knows – maybe after a year I will be the annoying dude that you run into at the grocery store wearing my new Nike Epic React Flynit Shoes with my NIke Pro 3/4 Training Tights.
Hmm. Maybe that is the ultimate Dragon. The day I could actually fit into a pair of Nike Pro Training Tights!
Guy Reams (58)
365 Member
Ride at Dawn
