Authenticity in Relationships

Source: Authenticity in Relationships

Week 12 – 8 miles is a long way to run.

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest that you reap, judge it by the seeds that you plant” – Robert Louis Stevenson

The run of the 15th of December was my 39th training run, the last run of the 12th week!  (Week 12: Dec. 9th-Dec. 15th)

39 runs in, 12 weeks down, 13 weeks to go and I’ll be running the Saturday Rock N’ Roll Marathon in Washington, DC.

Week 12 Statistics!

Average Run

• 00:45:23

Average Pace

• 9:03 /mile

Average Distance

• 4.98 miles

Notable week 12 information:

• My injured leg is feeling much better.  It still gets a little sore after a run, but not sore enough that I have to quit, nor sore enough that i can’t make my following run.  I am going to stick with the stretches and keep it limber, and keep going to the chiropractor for adjustments.
• I ran 8 miles on Saturday.  8 miles seems like a long way to go and it is…but I never felt like it was too far, or that my leg was going to give out on me.  I remembered seeing a commercial on television during the Olympics, where a guy was doing running and was listening to books on his iPhone.  I have tons of audio books, I used to listen to them while I worked, so I put the unabridged Lord of the Rings on my phone, and have been listening to it.  What a difference it makes!  I can zone out to the book, and even though i’m running it feels almost like I’m curling up with a good book to get entertained.   I’m almost ready to go run again, if only for the chance to hear the next chapter in Frodo’s saga.

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” – C.S. Lewis

Training week 9 – done!

The run of the 24th of November was my 31st training run, the last run of the 9th week!  (Week 9: Nov. 18th-Nov. 24th)

31 runs in, 9 weeks down, 16 weeks to go and I’ll be running the Saturday Rock N’ Roll Marathon in Washington, DC.

Week 9 Statistics!

Average Run

• 30:29 minutes

Average Pace

• 8:57 /mile

Average Distance

• 3.40 miles

Notable week 9 information:

• WELL, even though Chris and I knew it was upcoming, we failed to follow the schedule we have been following.  Week 9 was supposed to be the switching point from time trainings (we’ve been running 30 minutes for a while) to distance trainings.  We will start running the distance training Monday; with 3 miles being the goal, Wednesday; with 4 miles, Thursday; 3 miles, and Saturday; 5 miles.  Each Saturday from here until quite near the end, an extra mile will be added on, so in 5 months we’ll be running 10 miles on Saturday.  I’m a bit worried, but not from a running/fitness perspective, but more in a mental one.  I’m worried that I’ll be bored to tears running 10 miles.  I might be loading up the iPhone with an audio book to keep me company.

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Week 5…Done

“Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it”– Oprah Winfrey

The afternoon run of the 27th of October was my 19th training run, the last run of the fifth week!  (Week 5: Oct. 21th-Oct. 27th)

19 runs in, 5 weeks down, 20 weeks to go and I’ll be running the Saturday Rock N’ Roll Marathon in Washington, DC.

Week 5 Statistics!

Average Run

• 30:01.00 minutes

Average Pace

• 8:18 /mile

Average Distance

• 3.61 miles

Notable week 5 achievements:

• This week was run by myself – and two of the runs I took a different route.  Instead of going the hilly route down by Trump National golf course, I instead went out to Algonkian parkway, and just ran to see how far 15 minutes out took me.  Without the hills, my pace was considerably improved (almost breaking below 8min/mile).  As a friend reminded me though, i’m training for the long run, not the short sprint.

Each man’s life represents a road toward himself. – Herman Hesse

Discovery

It seems strange to me that at 37 I’m still learning about who I am. Things that I never would have dug up had I not been looking; monumental things.  Things that drive me, things that shape how I behave.

I’m insecure.

I’ve got a deep seated fear of rejection.

I have no problem getting close to somebody, but only so far.

In my life, I have been blessed with not just a woman, not just a wife in name alone, but a partner.  Someone who believes, who has glimpsed the person I can be (who I want to be).  Someone willing and able to ride out the rough with me.  A partner, a friend, a lover.  My wife.

So happy to wake up next to her, a different, deeper man every day.

This little journey of mine, even though it’s not so old, is already unlocking boxes in my mind that have been sealed since they were made.  I’m redoing the foundations of this old house, so that it will last forever.

Thoughts about direction

One of my life goals is school.

I was always told ‘Greg would do so much better if he just applied himself’, or ‘if Greg just slowed down and took the time on his studies, he’d be an A student’.  I heard that mantra my whole life, and besides knowing it to be true, I allowed it to be my reality – even though the truth of it is, most of my grades hovered just over 50%.  Whatever was the minimum effort needed to still get the diploma was what I put into it.  I was only an A student in potential.

This time around, I want to be an A student in reality.  A grade doesn’t define you, but for me – not having the grade before DID define me.  It shaped my view on life; to get by on as little effort as possible.  Why work hard when you don’t have to?  Why bust your ass on schoolwork, when you could skip it, play games instead, and STILL pass?  I have to admit, before I started university, I never (not once) ever studied for a test.  I didn’t do homework.  I skipped all projects.  I was at the mortal limit of skipping classes (one term, if I missed one more day, I was going to get the boot, straight from the principals mouth).

This time around, I want it to be different.  I am studying hard.  I am putting in the work to master the material (it’s not that hard to master the material; I read the chapter and do the homework – but still, I’m doing what is required).  I am an A student right now, after 2.5 years in, and am proud of my achievement.  Not just because it’s an A, a shiny badge for my transcript, but because of what it represents – the effort.  The dedication.  The fact that I put time INTO them, into my life, instead of life just happening.  I’ve done good work, and I’m happy with the results so far.

A month of progress!

It’s been a little more than a month since I started this journey.  I haven’t had a cup of coffee since September 9th, haven’t played a game (except for Scrabble with my mom) since the same.   My Xbox 360 is gone, and although I know I’m missing out, I strangely am not missing it.

I’ve spent much of my new time sleeping.  Before, when I would coffee fuel myself I’d stay up after my wife went to sleep and play video games, or do other really nonproductive things.  I’d stay up regularly until 1 am.  Nowadays, my bedtime hovers around 10, and I’m trying to push it a little earlier.  I’d like it to be around 9:30, all things being equal.

This newfound sleep gives me the energy I needed to hit my day properly, particularly with no coffee or caffeine.  I do have a cup of white tea from time to time, but probably in the order of 1 cup every 3 days, not 6 to 8 cups in one day, and white tea has considerably less caffeine than coffee.  I just enjoy a hot drink.

I’ve been less cranky.  I’ve been less of a dick to my kids (not that I was always that way, but I was definitely on edge more).  I notice now, that when I do lose my temper, I find it coincides with going to bed too late (thank you 9pm political debates and exams to study for).

I still am trying to balance classwork, family time, and work on my goals.  I don’t have enough time for all – usually just two at a time.  So far, family life has been suffering.  I need to plan and have more family time, but I have to make progress on my life goals too.

I’ve made little progress on my journey of faith, and moderate progress on my book.  I’ve made some good strides (heh heh) on my marathon progress, and have completed my early goals of giving up caffeine and games, and of creating this blog (now to the task of keeping it up to date and current – an ongoing struggle).

When it is time to die, let us not find out we never lived – Henry David Thoreau.

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” -Greg Anderson

This is during my 4th training run, the last run of the first week!

(never mind that this is a terrible picture!)

Four runs in, one week down, 24 weeks from TODAY I’ll be running the Saturday Rock N’ Roll Marathon in Washington, DC.

Today’s Run

Week 1 Statistics (if you’re into that sort of thing, and I am)

Average Run

• 20 minutes

Average Pace

• 10:36.41/mile

I used the Runtastic app that I mentioned I would be trying out, and already it’s much better and more functioned than the Nike+ app.  It has a ton of information you can very easily check out while you’re running, where as the Nike+ app was pretty limited to just your total time and your map.  It isn’t a deal breaker, because I wasn’t looking at my app all that much while running, but it was nice to look down and see my pace really quickly, or very easily change or pause songs.

This is a great beginning to my running challenge, and I look forward to many more.

“There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth…not going all the way, and not starting.” -Buddha

The End of an Era

*sigh

All my life, I’ve been a gamer. Atari. Commodore. Gemini. Colleco. Amiga. IBM. Nintendo (8bit, super, 64, GameCube). Playstation (1,2,3). Xbox, (original, 360).

Today, I sold the last of my stuff. It’s over. I remember saying “I’ll be 80 and playing video games.” It was part of my DNA.

Bollocks to that. It’s time for a new Greg. It’s time to find simple joys in hanging with my kids. It’s time to have some extra time with my wife, because she deserves it.

In short, it’s time to grow up.

I got RAPED at GameStop, but this isn’t about the money. Besides, I bought a ton of stuff for Lola’s party with it.

Mea Culpa.

The Journey Begins

Hey everybody.

Sometimes it takes a great event in life, sometimes it’s turmoil.  Sometimes it’s the love of a woman, sometimes, you’ve lost your job or your health.  Where ever your crossroads come from, which way will you go when you get to them?

Coming to a crossroads myself recently, it was time to take stock of who I am, what I am, where I came from, and more importantly where do I want to go?  It’s time for a reboot.

It’s time for Greg 2.0.  The phoenix has burned down, arisen again.

Too Much Time Wasted.

I wasted a lot of time.  Not in the sense that I didn’t have enjoyment (I did), but in the sense that nothing outwardly productive came from my efforts.  I don’t think that’s always a bad thing, sometimes entertainment is it’s own reward, but other things can be so much more so.  To this end, I’ve come to the first life changing task:

No More Games

(apart from family time games).

I packed up all of my Xbox 360 games and sent them to Amazon to their trade-in program.   I ended up getting almost $400 for them, so I’m happy.  Next to go is the Xbox itself.  I’ve got it, a controller, a hard drive, and a wireless adapter on craigslist right now, but after the listing if I still have it, it’s to Gamestop I go to get gouged.

Next, I’ll be going through my games closet and getting rid of all of my board games too.  Time to get focused – and time I’m not playing games is times I can spend doing all of the things I really want to do.

I have always been a gamer, so this one hurts.  At the same time, I’ve always been a gamer.  I was a pretty damn good one too.  Perfecting that, what else can I be?  What else do I want to be?  If I’m not gaming, what will I be doing with my time?

Next, I have committed to

No More TV or Internet

(except for work and this blog)

Too much time wasted.  See above.  Small Facebook games (while fun, and thank you everyone, it’s not getting the house cleaned, or helping my children with their lives).

I’ve committed to:

No Coffee, Tea, Drugs, Alcohol.

(White Tea and the odd wine/beer with my wife allowed)

This is a tough one.  I’m on day 12 of no coffee, and have only had  a few cups of caffeine starved white tea else wise.  I posted about the coffee struggle earlier.  Ouch.

Too many drugs in the system..am I me, or am I the drugs?  I’d like a baseline to spring from, and to do that I need to understand how much sleep and nutrition I really need to function, so this is a no brainer.  Posts on this path will appear under Health and Wellness, because well, they affect my health and wellness.  🙂

Next, I’m

Running A Marathon!

I’ve always wanted to do this, but never got off my LAZY ass to do so.  This time, it’s time.  I actually booked and PAID FOR my marathon, the March 2013 Rock N’ Roll Marathon in Washington, D.C.  My progress is under Running a Marathon!  in the links.  Since I’m a rookie at this, I’m going to be detailing my progress in slow, steady steps.  I hope that all of my research into running a marathon from scratch will inspire some of you to get up and do it yourself.  Only 1% of the population will run a marathon in their lives, and it’s a BFD to me.

Something else that I’ve always wanted to do, but never got up and did it (apart from the dreaming and thinking) is…

Write A Children’s Book!

Yep.  I’m just gonna do it.  I’m writing and illustrating an children’s book.  By the end of September 2013 I will have a published children’s book on the shelves somewhere.  It factors to be a labor of love, and I’ve already got some great feedback to my story ideas, so hopefully it and I will be hugely successful in this endeavor.

Next, I’m going to

Commit To A Religion

Not a theistic one, just can’t wrap my head around that.  I am very interested in the concept of spirituality however, and there are some fantastic non-theistic religions that I would like to delve into.  First up to see if I’m a fit, Buddhism.

I’m also come to the realization and acceptance that I’m not good at home.  I need to be in an out of the home job, so,

I’m Getting A ‘Real’ Job.

Not sure exactly where I’ll end up, but I have some very promising irons in some fires.  I want to join the adult world, have adult interactions, and regain some lost ego.  It’s just time.

Something I’ve been wanting to really get a hold of forever, is

Brush and Floss twice a day.

It’s all about habit making and sticking.  I just need to do it.  People who brush and floss live longer, and I want to be here for my family.  It’s as simple as that.  This, of all the things I’m looking to do may end up being the hardest to actually stick to doing.  I’m so God damn lazy.  Must. Stop. The Madness.

Go To Therapy

Ok, so I have some issues to work out.  Some serious ones.  As I get through some of them, I’ll share more.  Bottom line is, that a therapist can help you sort out who you are and where you’re coming from, so you can get to where you want to be.  This is exactly what I hope to do, so I think seeing a therapist can help me jumpstart this journey on the right foot.

Lastly,

Write A Blog!

In this age of over-sharing, I plan on over-sharing a bunch.  Tear down the wall, exposed in front of my peers.  Read if you like , don’t if you don’t, but don’t do nothing.

Be the change you want to see.

You are as happy as you want to be.

Anything is possible, with hard work and dedication.

If you’ve got dreams, why haven’t you started them?

If you don’t have dreams, maybe it’s time to set goals, instead of just exist.

This is the year of Greg.

Greg Hatchette, the HatchDad, ready to emerge from my shell as a new me.

Someone who I built, something I made.

Thanks for reading guys.