America and our Hollidays

Today is groundhog day! and its ridiculous!
Firstly I just want to point out how many ridiculous hollidays and taditions we have here in America.

• A magic bunny brings you candy.
• A magic fairy takes away your teeth and gives you money.
• A magic elderly person breaks in and leaves you presents.
• A magic green midget will pinch you if you don't wear green.

But this one takes the cake!

• A large magic squirrel will see his shadow or not and dependent on that we will have differing weather patterns.

I can accept the tooth fairy, I can even accept Santa and the Easter bunny but the ground hog is ridiculous.

Today I sat and wondered what it looks like, the groundhog cerimony,

So I looked it up.

Here it is

If you watch it, you cant even tell if hes sees his shadow or not! He is just too intent on getting that cheese! When I was a kid I imagined the ceremony being alot different on how it actually is. But I am starting to learn that its how life is. You just gotta make the best of everything even when its not what you expect. 

Live, Laugh, Love, Hope, and beware of magical rabid groundhogs.

Frozen Fog.

Have you ever had those moments when you think "It cant get any worse than this!" then it does! and you wish for what you had because even though it was the worst thing in the world you now have something worse?

Yeah. I learned about this today.

I am at a very low elevation right now. It is not supposed to snow (which has made me miss the snow terribly)

So this morning when I set out to go running I had no thought of snow in my mind. I put on a hat, shorts a light jacket and started going. 

A little flakes came down, then as I got the farthest away from my dorm, It started full on with huge flakes.

I thought "well It cant get any worse." That was a mistake.

The cloud came down and devoured me.

Snow is cold. Frozen Fog is more than cold. It is a constant wet that sticks to you. I have run in snow before, but this was worse than any snow I have ever felt.

Lesson learned. When life seams like it is too much and you cant take any more, when the cold is unbearable and the stress is overwhelming, when there is no respite from all the harshness that is assaulting you, don't tempt fate, just take it like a man. Because if the words "It cant get any worse" leave your lips, then you WILL see that it can get worse. Be happy for what you have because it can ALWAYS get worse.

I am grateful for what I have. I am grateful for my trials because I can take them. 

I know it can get worse, but I am just happy for how it is now. 

Be happy for what you have and your life will be easier.

Live in the moment.

Run Forrest Run!!!!

So here is the scenario. You are in your car or walking or something and you happen to see someone you may or may not know running. This person looks like they are doing good and you decide that you are going to be funny and say a original comment that will make them laugh. So you yell out "Run Forest Run!" I have something to say about this. It is not original. I have heard that comment yelled at me so many times, and after I hear it I always hear the person who said it snicker like its something that they made out their selves.

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the support and I love to know that you see me and I do love original comments. But that comment is not original.
Our English language has so much capacity! There is so much that can be communicated in so few words! and we can express ourselves so uniquely and so well by just using our brain.
The problem here is those few words are not original.
I hear them so often.

Really I do want to hear you say something when you see me. It helps me to keep motivation to keep going. But even a simple "Hi" is better than that.

Here are some Ideas for things that you could say to runners as you see them pass:

1 Good Form!
2 Looking Good! How far are you going!
3 Hi (insert name here)!
4 I like your shoes!
5 Go! Go! Go!

Those are just a few possibilities, really they are limitless!

So just remember next time you see a person running, don't be afraid to say something other than that old Cliche.

Finals.

Next week is finals week. That means that all my work throughout this semester is all dependent upon how well I do next week. It is just a little bit of a big deal.
I am keeping calm though. I have done my work all semester and I know the material. I just need to review and  do my best.
This semester has flown by! And I have learned one important thing.
Procrastination does not pay off.

In my English class we are required to turn in a 12 page paper at the end of the semester. I knew about this so I spent 90 minutes a day, for the past two weeks, working on that paper. I just yesterday finished the rough draft and it didn't even seam like that much work. If you do your work early it seams short. End of story.
Don't procrastinate, It makes life easier.

Running from the Monkeys of Madness...

Just yesterday I went on a run that lasted over 100 minutes. Most people would call this crazy. I call it relaxing. There is something peaceful about being with yourself, and being able to face it. I have lots of alone time with all my running. I have to be able to face myself every time that I am alone. This is something that not a lot of people get very often. SO often we occupy our every moment with something. We never have time to just communicate with ourselves.
There was once a time that I talked to a friend of mine. This friend always had a phone on them and was almost always connected to face book. They really NEVER had a moment being alone, and that is because being alone scared them so much. They had become completely accustomed to being with others that they were uncomfortable in their own skin.
When I run alone I am able to be with just myself. There is no one next to me to keep me or stop me from going as far or as short as I want to. If I just sat for 90 minutes then came back, no one would ever know that I did not run.
During my alone time I have to face myself. I have to come to terms with what I believe and why I do certain things. At those times there is no outside source to influence that.
It is just me.
Alone.
When I first started doing this I hated it. It was so boring and I had no one to impress. But after a while I learned something. If you are living your life to impress people, then you are living a lie. It is good to do something that impresses someone, and it is good to be complimented by someone, but that should not be the  whole purpose of all your actions.
I can tell you that after 7 years of being my own training partner that I crave alone time. I love that time that I can have with myself where I can tune out all outside influences and just be who I am. I can be myself and not have to worry about anyone judging me.
My times alone are some of the most cherished times I have.
Don't be afraid to be alone.

Mourning.

Right now I am currently Mourning the loss of a very good friend.not many out there are mourning with me. This friend knew how to brighten any ones day, and was always game for any fun activities. He wanted everyone to have a good time and would be there for you from dawn to dusk to keep you safe and warm. This friend is summer. He has gone away and I am afraid that he will never come back.

As we enter this winter season I realized that I am so grateful for Christmas. Its a time for people to be warm hearted when the weather outside is so cold. But new years does not fit. I believe that new years eve was supposed to be a time to reflect upon your past life and decide on how to become better. How to change yourself to be the best person that you can be. But recently it has turned into "the last time to do something crazy". Now I like crazy, as long as it is not out of hand. But I think that we need to look at our life's, I mean seriously look ourselves in the face and decide "am I the person that I want to be?"