11 Days and no running… the intention was there but no execution of any plans. So I greeted today’s run at lunch anticipating it much like you meeting your aunt that you haven’t seen in years. You’re not sure how kind Time was with her and you don’t know if she’s going to smother you with big wet kisses and pinches on the cheek or if she’s going to give you a “My Aunt Rocks” shirt. Either way, you’re probably not going to like it.
It’s pretty dead here on campus as school is not in session, not until next week. So, it was quiet when I headed out on my Market Square Fab 4 Course. I could tell that I was a little labored in my running but I was running at a semi-comfortable pace. Semi meaning that I wasn’t pushing it, but talking would have been a little difficult.
So, I was thinking that my first mile was going to be about 9:20 because that’s what it felt like and I knew that I had lost some of my speed. My prize: Mile 1 in 8:12.
The weather was cool (around 45 degrees), so it was a comfortable run and surprisingly enough there were plenty of people walking around on Market Square. I was glad that I didn’t do the 5 miles that I had wanted to do just because things go tough at the end.
Mile 2: 8:27
Mile 3: 8:37
Mile 4: 9:51 (I walked at a few places here and there)
Total Time: 35:11 (8:48 avg)
It was very nice to decompress while running. I almost wish that it had been like 10 miles so that I would have time to think more. While you are running, your mind wanders from subject to subject. sometimes seeing things ahead of you will spark ideas or past happenings. SO during the course of a mile, you think of many different things.
One of the things that I was thinking about during my run was Morphing or rather a proverbial Metamorphosis and why not starting thinking and talking about it now?
First Thing is my Job - I have an unfullfilling position. Unfullfilling because it’s not something that I am passionate about and for what I do mainly 95% of the time, I don’t need any of my 3 college degrees. The position’s great for working on the website and writing entries for this blog, but it’s not good for my soul. So, I am looking, not very aggressively but I am looking. And, it doesn’t have to be here in Knoxville… since Jen can work her MK anywhere, we are not bound by geography.
Second is my Running - I don’t run enough. I don’t run enought to reach the time goals that I set for myself. And I realize is that I don’t know enough. Sure I have a good concept of what it takes to run, but alot of the information, I have to reference, I don’t have it memorized. Also, I can plan for someone else (like Susan) but I can’t do a thing for myself. I guess it is hard to give yourself advice.
Third is my Writing - The first thing that I need to do is work on strengthening my vocabulary so that I can use SAT words like Pam and Michelle. Then I need to work on my grammar so that I don’t look like I write like someone struggled through English. I did take Creative Writing twice in High School as well as Journalism.
I need to find patience to proofread too…
Fourth is my Health - I need to eat better, or rather smarter… case in point. I have all this specialty Cadbury Chocolate from American Samoa and so instead of eating it in moderation or (better yet) giving it to someone else so they could practice Conservation of Energy (i.e. calories), I decided that I should eat large quantities of it now so that I could get rid of it. I realized that I was not being smart when my son was telling me to “Wake Up” at the computer because daddy was napping and it was only 4:30pm.
It would be foolish incongruous of me to give up all those things cold turkey. I mean, how I am supposed to survive without Chocolate, Coffee, Beer and Diet Coke? I just shouldn’t have eaten the entire bag of Cadbury Holiday Chocolates that were like ‘Mini Eggs Lite’.
Fifth is my Photography - I mentioned before that I would love a DSLR. I am going to revamp my photoblog, actually, I have signed up for shutterchance but have yet to upload more than one picture. I’m thinking about taking our workshop or 4th bedroom and making a make-shift studio. My Younger child is so photogenic, that I took about 10 shots of him with my 35mm in 5 minutes on Saturday. Had I had a digital camera, it would have been more like 500 pictures. Rae had mentioned (in a comment) that she and Brent love their Canon 20D, another rave for the 20D. We’ll have to see about the camera though… It would be awesome to catch someone who is upgrading their camera…
If you are looking for all my cool end of the year running stats, that’s the subject of my upcoming podcast…
I had the 20D before upgrading to the 5D.. it’s a great camera. You’ll love it
I would love to dedicate a whole room to photography. I have the room, just not the motivation
[quote comment="1080"]I had the 20D before upgrading to the 5D.. it’s a great camera. You’ll love it
[/quote]
I would love to dedicate a whole room to photography. I have the room, just not the motivation
The thing that is getting me right now with the 20D vs. say the Olympus or Nikon is that they are coming with 2 lens kits and we know how expensive lenses can run!
You shots are so good! You have the studio right outside… unless you wanted to do portraits of say humans.
Glad to see you on the run again! I like your thoughts on where you are headed in several areas of your life and I can totally relate to the desire for “passion” in what you do. Looks like you need a career that involves, running, writing, health and photography….that, oh by the way, can pay the bills.
A friend gave me a book for Christmas that I haven’t started yet called “Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow” by Marsha Sinetar. I am hoping to get some inspiration there.
3 degrees?
As Laura would say:
NERD.
But we love ya anyway! Man, I want a new camera….
M~
Ok, I will say one serious thing here. If you’re unfulfilled in your career, please consider something new. It’s been such a breath of fresh air for me to enjoy what I do now compared to 6 months ago. Life’s too short, my friend. Do you want to be 90 & say “I woulda, coulda, shoulda… but I didn’t.”
Just a thought for New Years.
M~
Great thoughts Terry. I can’t imagine being in a job that I was not 100% into. I have been fortunate to work in places that fulfill my goals and desires. I started in a photo lab in high school and continued in that line of work until I graduated college. Then I have been in full time Christian ministry since. The nice thing about this job is that if I don’t like what I am doing, I can move around pretty easily.
Running is a new passion for me. Hopefully it will stick with me for a while. Sounds like you have the makings of some good goals with your running.
(BTW, did I miss a podcast episode somewhere?)
As mentioned above, I used to be really big into photography. It is a great hobby. My main hobby now is seeing how long I can make old, obsolete computers function reasonably.
Happy New Year everyone!
That was a pretty sweet run. A little time of is not always a bad thing.
This is the time of year for a little reflection. It looks like you’ve got the bones of a plan in your head. It may be to much to tackle them all at once. Why not pick one, write down a plan to get there, anf go after it with everything you can muster. Then pick another one. Good luck figuring it out and Happy New Year!
So what kind of work would interest you?
[quote comment="1089"]Ok, I will say one serious thing here. If you’re unfulfilled in your career, please consider something new. It’s been such a breath of fresh air for me to enjoy what I do now compared to 6 months ago. Life’s too short, my friend. Do you want to be 90 & say “I woulda, coulda, shoulda… but I didn’t.”
Just a thought for New Years.
M~[/quote]
You are exactly right! And now that I have started to write down (I want a new job that…) and speak it outloud, I am giving it body and it has a future.
[quote comment="1083"]Glad to see you on the run again! I like your thoughts on where you are headed in several areas of your life and I can totally relate to the desire for “passion” in what you do. Looks like you need a career that involves, running, writing, health and photography….that, oh by the way, can pay the bills.
A friend gave me a book for Christmas that I haven’t started yet called “Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow” by Marsha Sinetar. I am hoping to get some inspiration there.[/quote]
It’s nice to run again. I just have to deal with that I lost some speed… Grrr… but at least I know what I need to do to get it back.
I’d be interested in what that book is like. There is another book that my wife and have been reading/completing call The Path and it helps you creating a Mission Statement.
[quote comment="1090"]Great thoughts Terry. I can’t imagine being in a job that I was not 100% into. I have been fortunate to work in places that fulfill my goals and desires. I started in a photo lab in high school and continued in that line of work until I graduated college. Then I have been in full time Christian ministry since. The nice thing about this job is that if I don’t like what I am doing, I can move around pretty easily.
Running is a new passion for me. Hopefully it will stick with me for a while. Sounds like you have the makings of some good goals with your running.
(BTW, did I miss a podcast episode somewhere?)
As mentioned above, I used to be really big into photography. It is a great hobby. My main hobby now is seeing how long I can make old, obsolete computers function reasonably.
Happy New Year everyone![/quote]
I don’t think that you missed a podcast. I did mislabel a podcast and so that may be the discrepancy. If you did miss one, it was probably the one of me swearing and playing lots of music… just kidding
old, obsolete computers… why I have a bunch of old obsolete parts that I would love to send to someone rather than the Dump. Interested?
I think that’s why I like your podcast, which is http://www.missionarytalks.com because you all have this calling and passion to do what you are doing…
[quote comment="1092"]That was a pretty sweet run. A little time of is not always a bad thing.
This is the time of year for a little reflection. It looks like you’ve got the bones of a plan in your head. It may be to much to tackle them all at once. Why not pick one, write down a plan to get there, anf go after it with everything you can muster. Then pick another one. Good luck figuring it out and Happy New Year![/quote]
That’s a good idea… I already have the start right here in the post, so I can just expound on it from here, taking each piece as an edible chunk and not trying to eat the Elephant in one big bite.
[quote comment="1094"]So what kind of work would interest you?[/quote]
Good question… and probably the toughest. I find it best when I help others… as I mentioned in the reply to MarathonChris, I have been trying to find a mission statement that will give me some clarity.
I’ll have to find where my current working mission statement is and post it.
Such reflective thoughts! Tis the season, huh. I have found that if one area of life gets lots of my attention and becomes SUPER (like my running, now, thanks to YOU) then the other areas seem to fall into place. Whatever happens, I’ll be reading your blog to keep up!
[quote comment="1109"]Such reflective thoughts! Tis the season, huh. I have found that if one area of life gets lots of my attention and becomes SUPER (like my running, now, thanks to YOU) then the other areas seem to fall into place. Whatever happens, I’ll be reading your blog to keep up![/quote]
Thanks Susan!
Great post! And I agree with someone else who said life is too short to not be fulfilled in various areas. Of course we’d love for you guys to move to Nashville and be part of the running community here!!!
Happy New Year!
[...] I can say that our trip to San Diego was phenomenal… remember back to my Morphing post back on Jan 2? I talked about things in my life… well, I had some great foundation forming these past few days. [...]