Keeping Perspective

I saw a YouTube video the other day, creatively put together by Julie Nolke, of her January 2020 self getting a visit from her April 2020 self.   Imagine for a minute that you could have that conversation with yourself but the future version was allowed to give advice but not allowed to say what is currently going on.   Pretty interesting and funny video.

Given what we know today, our perspective on daily life…. our finances, jobs and health have all been radically upended.   That was driven home to me in spades this week as I took on the 7-day Marathon Challenge.     A year ago, I set a goal of completing the effort in less than 8 hours.  At that time, after of year of working on getting back to running, I had only worked my way up to jogging a quarter to half mile before I had to stop and walk a while.   Hills were my nemesis, getting me breathing like an old steam engine and making so much noise people would stop to ask if I was all right.   One older woman walking her dog would cross the street when she saw me coming.  She said I scared her dog.   I think I actually scared her more.   I had pretty much resigned myself to this being the best I could achieve and running again was a dream too far.  If not for the fund raising for Help in the Nick of Time, I likely would have walked away from the effort.

Fast forward a year and life looks quite a bit different.    Delivery of groceries is no longer a luxury, wearing a mask and gloves is no longer just for bank robbers, eating out is now eating in, and toilet paper has become as hard to locate as big foot (TP is so valuable that I heard one person had tipped his food delivery person with it).     At an age when they grow leaps and bounds, I haven’t been able to spend time with my grandchildren in person in 3 months.   A year ago I couldn’t imagine such a scenario.    And of course, the most unbelievable event, the Boston Marathon was delayed for the first time in its 124-year history (actually it was replaced with a military marathon relay one year during WWI).   

Despite the marathon delay I decided to go ahead with my 7 Day Marathon Challenge in the week leading up to the original planned date.   Unlike last year I had set the bar a bit higher, planning to complete the challenge in under 6 hours (a goal that would have looked impossible a year ago).   I’m happy to say that as of this morning I was able to achieve that goal.   Unlike last year when I was jogging and walking, this year I was able to jog the entire distance in increments of 4.5-5.5 miles.    If my 2020 person had appeared to my April 2019 person and told him a year from now this was possible, the reaction would have been total disbelief.  Probably not much different than if someone told me then that the country/world would be shut-down this month. 

   

When I am in the middle of challenging times, I find it hard to keep a long-term perspective.   In our fast food, immediate satisfaction, instant google answers to everything, being patient and keeping perspective can be difficult.    My walking/jogging/running is a great reminder for me that there will be good days and bad days and keeping a broader perspective, a longer-term view so to speak, can keep me from stressing out about where I am today. 

Who knows where I’ll be when next year’s marathon challenge rolls around, and I’ve given up on trying to predict if I’ll ever achieve more than just jogging a few miles but those are worries for another day.   Right now, my 2021 self has an optimistic perspective on where life will be a year from now.

Thanks to all of you who supported me through this last year.

My Game, My Rules!

This is a popular saying I first heard from Dave McGillivray, the well-known elite endurance athlete who is also the race director for the Boston Marathon.  In fact, Dave has not only been the race director for 32 years but he has run it for 47 years IN A ROW. This includes last year’s marathon only 6 months after a triple bypass.   Dave used to be neighbor when I lived in Massachusetts and I would see him often on the roads or at races that his race management company directed.   Every year on his birthday Dave would run his age in miles.   Last I heard he was planning on taking on the challenge when he turned 65.   My Game, My Rules.

I’ve adopted this philosophy when I put together our 7 Day Marathon Challenge leading up to the 2020 Boston Marathon.     As I mentioned last blog, with the Covid situation the Boston Marathon has been moved to September and I planned to move my Marathon Challenge to match.   Well, as I am prone to do these days, I’ve changed my mind and plan to go ahead with the challenge this week.   My Game, My Rules.

It’s not that I’m a gluten for punishment, (although my wife may argue the issue), or that I’m bored out of my gourd being locked down (that’s definitely contributing to my already questionable sanity).    The reality is I’ve been thinking a lot about how the lock down is affecting the children stuck in the hospital fighting cancer.    Our limited lock down, isolating us from our friends and family is just a small sample of what these children are already facing as they fight cancer.     Given their compromised immune systems their restrictions are even more stringent.   I can speak from experience that when you are fighting the disease for an extended period of time in the hospital, the support of friends and family is crucial. 

 

So, I owe all the people who have supported Help in the Nick of Time a big Thank You for what you have done to help.   Your contributions have allowed us to supply laptops and tablets to pediatric cancer wards to keep the children connected to family, friends and the outside world.   In addition, we have been able to send boxes of toys and activities to help them pass the time and distract them from the drudgery and pain of treatment.  

It’s now my turn to do my part.  I promised to do a marathon over 7 days in under 6 hours and starting tomorrow we will be kicking it off.   While not as impressive as Dave McGillivray’s efforts last April, and a far cry from running the Boston Marathon, it is a major step forward from the 8 hour challenge I set this time last year.    If nothing else it will keep me busy and get me out of the house (which will contribute to my wife’s sanity). 

I will drop a quick update at the end of the week.  

Stay safe!