And So I Ran

Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. – Lou Holtz

This blog and site isn’t supposed to be about me. It’s supposed to be about the team and our running and fundraising efforts but since the Covid-19 Pandemic, a lot has been put on hold. In many ways, I feel like I have been put on hold myself and that’s trickled down to a lot of things.

At first, I worked hard to come up with an idea of what to do since the Ragnar was moved to a date we couldn’t attend and quite frankly, with everything related to the pandemic, we didn’t have enough sponsorship to pull it off.

Additionally, since March 23rd, I’ve been home from work and while at first, I enjoyed the focus of the quiet, I’m not going to lie, the novelty has worn off. I miss my friends at work, the hustle and bustle of 40 other people talking and yelling and carrying on about who’s buying southern yellow pine lumber from what mill and everything associated with the craziness that my job can entail. It may not seem exciting to you and most days it’s not but the community of it all and the inner workings of our group as a team….I MISS THAT. And I’m staring at least another month of this in the face.

I’ve always been described as a pretty positive guy that’s hard to get down but over the last couple of weeks the weather….oh the weather. With the exception of a beautiful weekend here or there, the weather hasn’t been great. Add it all up and I know I’m not different than anyone else but I’ve had moments where I’ve just been down.

I swore that I’d not shave till I headed back to work and combined with my general malaise lately, I’ve definitely started to look every bit the part of that bearded grump in the picture above.

Add it all up and tie into the Lou Holtz quote above….my attitude hasn’t been good enough to maintain my motivation and it’s just led to an inability to move forward how I normally would lately.

Runners Doing Good’s site and social media platforms have largely been silent. I’ve not simply not run, which always helps my attitude, which leads to greater motivation, and results in an increased ability in whatever I do, running, work, fundraising, you name it.

People throw out there that we’re all in the “same boat.” I saw one today that I thought was more profound, “We’re in the same storm, but different boats trying to weather it.” Everyone’s dealing with the same overall problem but how it manifests itself for each person is different. I’ve been struggling of late and I’m under any illusion that I’m snapped out of it but I made a choice today to take a step forward.

I’ve had weight loss goals, mileage goals, fundraising goals, and all sorts of stuff for this year. 2020 is the lead up to my 40th at the end of the year. I promised myself I would run the fasted 5k and 10k of my new running life and run more miles than I’ve done since gotten back into running in 2015. It’s May 7th and do you want to know how how much I’ve run? 8.49 miles….yikes. I’m also heavier, north of 215, than I’ve been before any Ragnar that I’ve run in the last 5 years. That’s not the picture of a guy that’s going to be setting any PR’s right now.

But the step forward….I ran today and I’m going to try to keep a promise to myself to keep running. It was only 2 miles but it felt good. The sun was shining, the birds are chirping, and I put one foot in front of the other for the first time in weeks. Those goals are still out there and I hope that by just taking it a step at a time that I’ll meet and exceed them. Down days are bound to come but it’s time to do something about it and make them the exception.

Whatever boat you’re in, I wish you nothing but the best as you weather this storm too. May your steps keep driving you forward, improving your ability, motivation, and attitude.

Take Care,

Gabe

PS – Snapped this pic of the Magnolia Tree in our yard as I finished my run. It’s in full bloom! Love that tree. And now back to my desk to finish up my day 🙂