It is not the pain, stupid

Why does one stop short of accomplishing one's goal.  I have come to believe that in running as in life it is hardly ever about  reaching the pain or exhaustion threshold. It seems that the mind plays truant with us. It conjures up imaginary pleasures or distractions  or even challenges that then start making the activity at hand less meaningful somehow and boom...just an ever so slight diffusing of focus and the subconcious powerhouse that was a friend till now becomes the enemy. The same legs and lungs that were fueling the victory as if have the power cord unplugged from them.
If one is so determined, one has to condition the entire mechanism in the activity mode by re-starting the activity... running in this case and not thinking more about it.
Reboot...
Who presses the reboot button though? The brain, the mind or the intellect. Can we train the intellect to intervene when the mind starts getting distracted. Perhaps that is the difference between a trained runner and an aspiring one. A well trained athlete has a more perceptive intellect that intervenes at the first sign of trouble and resets the tone.

My first Marathon

It is scheduled to be on Sep 26th. I signed up on a whim and a prayer a few months back. I can't say I have trained optimally but I am confident that I will run a good one and most of all enjoy it. That is the primary goal. And to enjoy it I need to run well too.

I believe that I can run one in 3 to 4 hours. Closer to three is my goal. For me the BQ time is 3hrs 20 minutes. Lets see.

First one they say is special. It truly is. A lot must happen right to stay on track, to stay injury free and to over come the lazyness barrier or the schedule challenges that all of us encounter. For me the joy of running keeps trumping all. I have also not burdened myself with too much discipline or regimen. I run a few days a week and have my long run on the weekend. Sometimes I take my 4 year old son who rides his bike while I run. It is not as efficient but what the heck. We enjoy it.

For all the first timers benefit, I will post my running schedules after my runs daily from now on. My last one was a couple of days back, may be three miles. Before that was the weekend, about 16 miles. I plan to do one today for 5 to 8 miles based on where I end up going and the time.

If anyone has any advise, please respond. I only have two criteria. I like to run alone or with my son on his bike and would like to have as much fun with it as possible.

Why I run

When you are at it, nature around you becomes a blur. What happens is the fun is inside you. For me atleast that is true. You become aware of the beauty of the human machine.... you feel your own legs and lungs and the perspiration... wind in your face or just being drenched in bright sunlight. Just something very animal like about it. Very freeing... Like a sports car finally on the race track. Its purpose is not built into its brakes. It is the rythm of the engine that syncs with the drivers mind. When you run or even bike, it is not about the speed or the location or how much. Just getting to a point when you become aware of your body. The "organism' as Neitzche called it. Going beyond the first instinct to stop. 100 yards is as good as 10 miles.