MARATHON TRAINING - NOT JUST FOR THE EVENT - FOR MY LIFE

So if you do not know yet, I am training for a FULL Marathon.  Yes, 26.2 Miles.  I have mentioned previously that last year I was drug into running a 1/2 Marathon with my wife and a group of friends.  Come to find out, I like to run. So my training begins.  

MARATHON TRAINING PLAN:  Run.  Run some more. Run even more. Just keep running.  

That is pretty much the jest of my training plan.  Seriously though I have been following (with some variance) a training plan provided to me by a running club I have joined, Cypress Running Club.  During my training over the past several weeks, I have had a lot of time to think while running.  One thing that I keep telling myself is that yes I am running 14 miles, 12 miles, 15 miles, 18 miles all to prepare for my RACE DAY, but I do not want it to stop here.  When I finally jumped off and started this blog, I jumped into a very large uncomfortable/vulnerable area for myself, but I finally realized that what I have been doing recently has not given me the results that I am looking for.

While running 14 miles this past weekend, I began to think of Newton's Laws of Motion.

• An object at rest stays at rest.
• This is where I was for several years and where many of you might be.  You may not realize it but you are.  Going from being active in school sports to sitting at a desk all day was definitely "staying at rest".  
• An object in motion stays in motion.
• This is where I believe I am now.  I have made up my mind to not quit in the middle.  I want to be an object in motion that stays in motion.
• Unless acted upon by an outside source. (Good or Bad)
• My outside source that kicked me out of "rest" as I mentioned in my first post was my eye opening picture. (See it here) This picture pretty much threw me off center and made me move.  Sometimes outside sources are good.  My family, friends and trainers are good outside sources.  They will help me and even give me a nudge when I need it.  
• On the flip side, there are other outside sources that do not help you.  These can be all sorts of things as in my list of items from my first post.  

My goal is to line my "course" with enough good sources that when I do hit a speed bump or even hit a wall head on, that I also have a good source that will be there to give me the nudge that I need.  For me this looks like the following:

• My Wife
• She is good about nagging me out of bed, most times, when I do not want to.  Mainly because if I don't get out of bed I have a problem with snoozing the alarm and keep her up for the next two hours instead of just turning the alarm off.
• Friends/Family
• I have some friends/family that have gone through and hit goals they have set for themselves.  They are there for any advice and encouragement that I may need.
• I also have some friends/family that may need or want to start their journey.  Hopefully they will follow me and start their own journey.  Which brings me to my next source:
• Journey195.Blogspot.com
• This blog was mainly created as a way to add a form of accountability for myself.  This is where if I fall off the wagon, those of you who are following me can know that you may need to step in and give me a little nudge.  
• YMCA Trainers
• I try to consistently attend Boot Camps on M-W-F and have informed those trainers of my goals.  This allows me to be transparent with them and also allows them to call me out or ask me for an update of how things are going.

My main goal for all of this is not just for the "Race" as I discussed with one of my trainers.  I want this to be a large jump start on the rest of my life.  Who knows what will happen once I hit 195.  Will I stop there? Will I still have more weight to loose?  Will I just need to concentrate on building muscle?  Will I enjoy the marathon and want to run another?  Will I want to try my hand at other events?  One thing that I know for sure is:

My journey will never stop and I will always have to make a conscious decision to not go back to my old ways