Non-Running Commentary: Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite

I came across Paul Arden's Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite on Salty Lyon.  The book is 136 pages of pithy wisdom, teaching readers to alter their way of thinking and taking risks to live the life that you want.  A few statements at the start of the book resonated the most:

"I want means: if I want it bad enough I will get it.  Getting what you want means making the decisions you need to make to get what you want."

"Everything we do we choose.  So what is there to regret?  You are the person you chose to be."

"Dreaming and talking about it won't achieve anything.  There is only one person who can determine the shape of your life. You."

Believe me, I could not be happier with the way that things turned out for me -- I have a job that I love, a roof over my head, a loving family, and several very important people in my life.  But, sometimes, I do wonder what's out there and what experiences I'm missing out on because, let's say,  I'm too busy dreaming about how awesome a trip would be instead of booking airline tickets.

So, I'm going to try something different this year.

I want to try a little harder to get out of my comfort zone and work toward doing all of the wonderful things that I've wanted to do for a long time.  It won't be easy to get out of my comfort zone and make (scary) decisions, but it'll be more than worth it in the end.

Operation Sub-2:00 Half-Marathon, Second Attempt

With 2012 coming to close, I've been looking ahead to my 2013 race calendar and racing goals.  As of the beginning of this month, I've registered for two races: the Rock 'n' Roll USA Half and the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler.  And, I'm certain that I will sign up for a few smaller races during the first half of the year.

Last March, I missed my goal of finishing a half-marathon in under two hours. (Actually, I've missed it a few times before.)  I can give any number of excuses for my failure.  I was just coming off a cold. I was focusing on marathon training. I walked through a few water stations.  I just didn't run fast enough...you get the idea.

I've come close so many times before, and I'm convinced that I can do it this time. 

There are 11 weeks between me and this year's Rock 'n' Roll USA.  Instead of creating a plan myself, I used the Smart Coach tool from Runner's World to form my half-marathon training plan.  Here are the first three weeks:

I like the idea of three easy runs, but, most weeks, I will do at least one short run closer to my intended race pace. (This plan suggests running an 8:59 pace during the race for a finish time of 1:57:46.)

I'm really excited to do this!