I have been a tad bit lacking on getting out the blog entries, but I've noticed that the blogs I follow have also been slow to get updates out, so I don't feel so bad.
After running three half marathons early in the year, all within about 4 to 6 weeks of each other, I have had the last few months off of the long runs. In order to keep on track with running, and to increase my endurance, I decided to spend the last few months working a full marathon training schedule in preparation for my next half marathon, and to determine if I'd be up to taking on a full marathon anytime soon. Tomorrow will be the final test in making that determination, as I take on an 18 mile run. The full schedule would have me running 20 miles in two weeks, but with the Philadelphia Half Marathon coming up in mid-September, I don't want to put in a 20 mile run on this go around. I'll then have a couple more half marathons in a short period of time, running Columbus in October and the Space Coast Half on Thanksgiving weekend.
I'm planning on making the trip to Phoenix for the March 1st Half Marathon, but may decide to make that my next full marathon, just depending on how I feel after tomorrow. That would mean a winter training schedule, but I'm ok with that.
I set a goal to run 1000 miles this year. I'm well ahead of schedule on that goal, having put in 717 miles so far. Even if I didn't run anymore this month, I would still be 50 miles ahead of schedule to achieve that goal, and with three half marathons to train for by the end of the year, and potentially a full marathon in early 2014, I'm confident that I'll meet my goal.
I haven't read any new books this past month, so I'm still at eight books read out of the twelve I resolved to read this year. I started to read a new book this past month, but didn't get in to it very far before I decided it just wasn't for me. It's not that I'm not reading, my issues of Runner's World Magazine give me plenty of interesting reading, but I need to get back to the books.
At work, things are going to be getting pretty busy as the year starts to wind down. We currently have one new dispatcher in training and just completed an interview process to hire another. With the planned changes that are coming through the end of this year and early next year, we expect to have to hire at least four more on top of those two. That will result in fewer opportunities for casual leave, but more opportunities for some overtime, which helps pay for some of my running events and trips. I'm taking advantage of the time off that I do get and staying away from work during those days in order to make sure that, when I am picking up a lot of overtime, I'm not burning out on work.
On a completely different note, I've found that I really have no clue when it comes to reading people. Almost every person that I've gotten to know turns out to be completely different than the "first impressions" that I had. It's humorous really. People who I thought were honest, turned out to, in some cases, be outright liars. People who I thought were positive individuals have turned out to be some of the most negative. The reverse has also shown to be true though. Maybe that's a way of telling me to just quit trying to figure people out and just "go with it". Who knows?
I had an opportunity this past month to spend an evening with some of my classmates from high school. Only a few of us from the Pickerington class of '84 were able to make it out, but it was a fun evening. That was probably my first realization that I'm ... wait for it...wait for it....getting old. Yes, I said it. As we sat around the table contemplating how "this younger generation just doesn't understand" and how they "expect everything to be handed to them" and how "they have no real work ethic", I realized that I'd heard conversations like this before. They were from those who I once considered to be the "older generation". But they were in their 40's and 50's when they were saying those things. Now here I am, 47 years old, and making the same kinds of comments.
So I'll continue to keep a good attitude, while hoping that one day "this younger generation" will figure it out. Hopefully they'll figure out that anything worth having is worth working for, and nothing is handed to you on a platter. Change CAN be a good thing. But sometimes, as my father has said, there are reasons why some things don't change. Sometimes, things are good the way they are. Change simply for the sake of change is not always a good thing.
After running three half marathons early in the year, all within about 4 to 6 weeks of each other, I have had the last few months off of the long runs. In order to keep on track with running, and to increase my endurance, I decided to spend the last few months working a full marathon training schedule in preparation for my next half marathon, and to determine if I'd be up to taking on a full marathon anytime soon. Tomorrow will be the final test in making that determination, as I take on an 18 mile run. The full schedule would have me running 20 miles in two weeks, but with the Philadelphia Half Marathon coming up in mid-September, I don't want to put in a 20 mile run on this go around. I'll then have a couple more half marathons in a short period of time, running Columbus in October and the Space Coast Half on Thanksgiving weekend.
I'm planning on making the trip to Phoenix for the March 1st Half Marathon, but may decide to make that my next full marathon, just depending on how I feel after tomorrow. That would mean a winter training schedule, but I'm ok with that.
I set a goal to run 1000 miles this year. I'm well ahead of schedule on that goal, having put in 717 miles so far. Even if I didn't run anymore this month, I would still be 50 miles ahead of schedule to achieve that goal, and with three half marathons to train for by the end of the year, and potentially a full marathon in early 2014, I'm confident that I'll meet my goal.
I haven't read any new books this past month, so I'm still at eight books read out of the twelve I resolved to read this year. I started to read a new book this past month, but didn't get in to it very far before I decided it just wasn't for me. It's not that I'm not reading, my issues of Runner's World Magazine give me plenty of interesting reading, but I need to get back to the books.
At work, things are going to be getting pretty busy as the year starts to wind down. We currently have one new dispatcher in training and just completed an interview process to hire another. With the planned changes that are coming through the end of this year and early next year, we expect to have to hire at least four more on top of those two. That will result in fewer opportunities for casual leave, but more opportunities for some overtime, which helps pay for some of my running events and trips. I'm taking advantage of the time off that I do get and staying away from work during those days in order to make sure that, when I am picking up a lot of overtime, I'm not burning out on work.
On a completely different note, I've found that I really have no clue when it comes to reading people. Almost every person that I've gotten to know turns out to be completely different than the "first impressions" that I had. It's humorous really. People who I thought were honest, turned out to, in some cases, be outright liars. People who I thought were positive individuals have turned out to be some of the most negative. The reverse has also shown to be true though. Maybe that's a way of telling me to just quit trying to figure people out and just "go with it". Who knows?
I had an opportunity this past month to spend an evening with some of my classmates from high school. Only a few of us from the Pickerington class of '84 were able to make it out, but it was a fun evening. That was probably my first realization that I'm ... wait for it...wait for it....getting old. Yes, I said it. As we sat around the table contemplating how "this younger generation just doesn't understand" and how they "expect everything to be handed to them" and how "they have no real work ethic", I realized that I'd heard conversations like this before. They were from those who I once considered to be the "older generation". But they were in their 40's and 50's when they were saying those things. Now here I am, 47 years old, and making the same kinds of comments.
So I'll continue to keep a good attitude, while hoping that one day "this younger generation" will figure it out. Hopefully they'll figure out that anything worth having is worth working for, and nothing is handed to you on a platter. Change CAN be a good thing. But sometimes, as my father has said, there are reasons why some things don't change. Sometimes, things are good the way they are. Change simply for the sake of change is not always a good thing.
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