The curious runner

“In my most painful moments on the bike, I am at my most curious, andI wonder each and every time how I will respond.” - Lance Armstrong

Say what you want about Lance, but regardless of whether or not he used performance enhancing drugs he is still an unbelievable athlete and competitor.  I read this quote yesterday from him and realized that in one sentence he summarized the point I had tried to make last year in my "Runners are all a little crazy"  post when I wrote about "the sick enjoyment I get from pushing my body to new extremes to see what it is capable of doing".

I finished my first marathon a few months back just under 3 hours 45 minutes.  It was an awesome event and most definitely the hardest physical challenge of my life.  I learned a lot about myself, mainly that I can run 13 miles with cramping quads and somehow manage to put the pain aside for the last 3 miles when I stepped on the gas to get under 3:45.  I also learned that my long term goal of qualifying for Boston (<3:05 needed) is more or less unattainable, but hey, you never know, right?

I was surprised at how much the race took out of me, it took almost a month before my legs were no longer shaky/weak and then not until this past week (2+ months later) where I was able to run fast and pain free once again (I've had a few nagging injuries keeping me from running much).  It sure feels great to be back out there, and I can't wait for the half marathon I plan to run later this fall.

Sweet new Google Plus design...now only if people cared

Google Plus just updated the iPad app and the design is pretty nifty.  Using it on a tablet it is much easier to use and much more fun to browse through than the absolutely horrible Facebook app for the iPad (which doesn't even support the "Timeline" feature for some unknown reason).  One can only hope that, with the tighter Facebook/IOS integration coming this fall in IOS 6, Facebook will also take the time to revamp their mobile apps which are seriously lacking in both features and performance. Google Plus on iPad:

Facebook on iPad:

I'm a killer....of fruit flies

It seems each of the past few summers I've fought a small war with fruit flies. First you see one or two, the next day it is 10-15, the day after you have a small army. I swear, they must do nothing but annoy humans and have sex all day long. There are a bunch of methods to get rid of them that I've found, but this is one of the easiest ones and also the one that has worked best for me. How to kill fruit flies (the easy way):

Step 1: take out a glass

Step 2: Pour some apple cider vinegar into the glass

Step 3: Add a squirt or two of dish soap and swirl the glass around a few times to mix it a bit

Step 4: ignore the smell and leave the area, within a day or two they will almost all be dead

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Results of my successful battle last night !!!

What is success?

A lot has been written lately about David McCullough Jr.'s “You are not special. You are not exceptional" speech recently at Wellesley High School's graduation, most recently this NY Times Article and this blog post now going viral.  I think this has really hit home with me as it's something I've been slowly working my way through myself the past year or so as I've made some pivotal life decisions.  As my 30th birthday quickly approaches, I'm realizing more and more that it's the journey and not the destination.  When you are younger, success was much easier to measure and attain.  Make the honor roll, win a baseball game, do well on the SAT's, get into college, etc..  For better or worse, there weren't many other factors that our peers or parents judged us by. Post college, things started to get a lot more interesting.  Am I successful if I have a big title?  Make a lot of money?  Do something that I truly enjoy?  Own a big house? Avoid Corporate America all together and live off the grid?  Start a family?  Volunteer my time? Go to grad school?  Defining success is no longer as straightforward and can be attained through many more avenues than when we were younger.  This actually is comforting, especially to those who were never great at the school thing (irregardless of intelligence) or very good athletes.

I wish I had the silver bullet, but I don't.  Instead I've realized that I need to pursue what makes me happy, which may or may not fall in line with societal norms.  I've seen too many folks with big titles and huge salaries that aren't happy, too little compassion for others, too many floating through life with no meaningful or long term relationships to others, and too many people that can never stop and smell the roses.  I want to never stop learning, improve my focus on relationships with those who I care the most about, care for the greater good even if it has to come at my expense, keep an open mind, and travel more of the world continuously remind me to be thankful for the gifts I've been given.

What does success mean to you?