I had a feeling this would happen because I'm not so good on follow-through these days. I have grand ideas and then I just don't execute them. I'm the kind of person who has a ton of energy in the beginning of a project and then just twitter out because of a lack of patience.
Take rowing. When I rowed Crew, I much preferred the 2k sprint races than the longer 5k races. I think that's because I just get bored or distracted (or both) part way through and then I lose my concentration. After that, I start making mistakes and drifting off to other thoughts. It was really a test in my determination and focus to row 5k races. And I think that was good for me. I was determined to do my part as a part of the team, so I worked hard and really tried to keep my mind focused.
In life, I prefer sprints.
And that is why I need to challenge myself to do something that is more than a sprint. Sure, there are several things that make up my life now that are "marathon" - my marriage, my children and my bills - but those are things that just are. Just by living and existing, I'm doing those things. Ok, well paying my bills is something I have to work towards in some way through paying them. But just by having them, they will exist without any effort on my part.
Anyways, my thoughts were that training for a marathon run would be something long term that would take great effort and determination on my part. I know that it's a huge challenge because the idea of running for more than 10 minutes just bores me. But that's the idea, right? It's a challenge. It's not something I can start and be over with after an hour, a day, a week, etc. This will take months - probably a couple of years to do. ...Man, do I have that in me?
I did a 2 week boot camp at my gym. I loved it and it really challenged me. But after the first week of it, even that was boring me!! Why? Every day was something different that I knew would kick my butt! But, it bored me because it was a routine I was getting into. Wake up early, go to gym, come home, shower, go to work. And I knew every workout would be hard. There was nothing to shake it up.
...speaking of which, my gym is doing another boot camp this month. I want to do it, but they cost $130 for 2 weeks! In this economy and with the strains on our finances, that's a lot of money for 1 hour a day for 10 days of working out. I can't afford that! Especially not just after Christmas.
So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do about my ambition to train for a marathon. Right now, it's on hold until I can get some other parts of my life in order.
