You ever hear the term “hitting the wall”? Many times I am sure. It definitely comes into play when talking about running a marathon. I have had it hit at 19 miles, and basically every mile after up to the finish of the marathon–26.2 miles. It is that feeling when you don’t think you can go any further. You are completely exhausted, and have had enough. You ask yourself: Why bother? Why should I keep going? I got nothing left. There are so many similarities to running a marathon, and life in general, that it is scary. Especially with this time of the pandemic, it has been so easy to “hit the wall” now. You get sick and tired of all the politics going on, the ranting and complaining about having to do this, or having to do that. It is not like any of us really have a true choice in the matter. Don’t get me wrong. You can choose to get a vaccine or not. You can choose to wear a mask or not. You can choose to be kind to someone or not. We are all in this together. We can agree to disagree. But, we can still respect each other, and treat each other the way we would want to be treated. When we get pushed though, we push back. It is human nature. And there has been a lot of pushing lately. Running helps take the stress away. In order to help with the stress, sometimes you just have to run further. A marathon can be the secret. But like everything else, it is always easier with help from your friends and family. They help keep you going, and when you feel like you hit a wall, they are there to help you get over it, or through it, or around it, whatever the case may be.
Good words of advice. Take things on head first. Don’t back down from challenges. You can push through things. You can meet those challenges. In life, as well as the marathon, there are times when things hurt more. Push through the pain. But there is no mistaking it. They are times when things get tough.
Sometimes you want to just lay down and say, “enough”! I can’t possible do any more.
The look on your face can say, “enough is enough”. I can only do so much. And that is when you dig down deeper. You figure out what you are really made of, and who you really are. We got saved yesterday doing a 20 mile run…the longest run we have done prior to the marathon that we will be doing in 3 weeks. We got saved by Randy and delivery of “nutritional vitamins”. Nothing better than peanut M and M’s for this!
Of course, the real reason we run is to eat! There has to be some other reward in all of this, doesn’t there?
If we did not have social media as well, how could we possible talk about our long runs, and our adventures, and experiences so everybody can hear about them?
Get back to having fun in your life. Ignore all of the other garbage going on all of the time. We do not need any other reasons to keep “hitting the wall”. Let it go!
Get excited about something…whatever it is, and be passionate about it. You only live once. Break down all those barriers…those “walls”, and plow through it. I believe all of us in our run club will do great in Fargo in 3 weeks, and we are going to take on that wall when it comes, and push right through it. Stay tough. Stay focused. Rely on your friends and family. And, keep moving everybody, and stop “hitting the wall”…and if you do, just hit it harder than it hits you!
We were back at work this past Monday, but the week prior we were on vacation. How did Sarah and I spend our vacation? We spent it being Grandpa and Grandma! We spent the first half of the week in Tyler, Minnesota, and the rest of it at home as our daughter Molly and grandson Connor came back with us, with our son-in-law Tanner joining us later in the week. It was great to just relax, and spend time with family. Of course, we spent time taking Connor for a walk, or a run, every day in the stroller.
It was nice taking some pictures of some different views of sunsets. The evenings over their farm in Tyler, MN made for some nice pictures as well.
We also got to spend some other time with other family members as well. Great Grandpa and Grandma Folk were here for a 4 generation picture…
…and of course Aunt Megan spent as much time here as well during the second half of the week!
Needless to say, it was a great week. Being a grandparent is better than I thought it would be. We can’t wait to see him again! He changes every time we see him. It was also a reminder to us, and to everybody, that you need to take some time for vacation, and get away. And if that get away allows you spend time with family, then it is just icing on the cake!
Until next time Connor! Grandpa Dan can’t wait to hold you again. This is why you need to take care of yourself. This is why you should stay in shape. This is why we all need to strive to survive. These days are priceless! Keep moving everybody!
Why do we keep trying to stay in shape by exercising? So we can spend more time with our grandchildren. Here we are taking Connor (C. Daniel…) for a walk. We are going to get to see him more this coming week, and am really looking forward to it! He will more than likely take after his Dad and become a farmer, but, he will be a running farmer! (Ha!) Will see, right? How do we attempt to keep taking care of ourselves? Well we always talk about trying to keep working on our diet, and exercising. But, we need to learn how to take breaks; learn how to slow down; learn how to appreciate what we have in front of us. This last 1 1/2 years with the pandemic has made life crazy, and very frustrating. There is also no shortage of rudeness around either. Now more than ever we need to learn to slow down and take a deep breath, and appreciate what we have.
Get out and appreciate nature. We have a great lake to go to and just watch, especially with sunrise and sunsets. Now more than ever I appreciate watching and taking it in since my health issues in the past. Those scenes were always there, I was just too busy to pay attention, and almost missed it all. Don’t let that happen to you! Appreciate the carefree life they have, and take in the beauty of it.
It never gets old going out by Lake Kampeska, especially when there are some clouds, and just sit back and watch…and take time to think. Amazing what this does for your mind, and attitude. It makes you forget about everything else going on. If you have never done it, you have no idea what you are missing. Give it a try!
Our run club was out doing a long run Saturday morning, and stopped long enough to take this sunrise picture. When you are out running, or walking, or biking, just take it in. You don’t even feel like you are exercising when you have the sunrise and sunsets to help take your mind off of things, and just let go. Sarah will tend to take Dakota for a walk in the mornings, and I prefer going in the evenings, so Dakota and I can stop for some pictures as well. Dakota is also getting used to this, and is patient while I take pictures. She is just glad she gets to go for another walk!
Remember what is important, and set your priorities, before things in life pass you by!
Grandpa Dan plans on taking this all in, and spending quality time with my grandkids. As a parent, things are crazy trying to keep the family afloat, and provide for them. Now those days, and pressure, can start easing off, or at least become better, that you can spend more quality time with the grandkids that you did not always have with your own kids. Make it count. The only time it won’t matter is when you are no longer here. So strive to survive, and make your life count. Learn to take care of yourself, and be around longer to appreciate the things in life that matter! Keep moving everybody!
Many times, people use the expression “In it for the long run”! By definition, it means “over a relatively long or extended length of time in the future”. OK…my meaning: it takes time for something good to come about. We need to learn to be patient. Everything does not happen all at once. Whether in a relationship (Sarah and I will celebrate #31 in October!), or with goals, or training. That is truly the epitome of the marathon. It is a challenge every time, and takes work, and it is a lengthy process. We are doing “the long run” to achieve our goals “in the long run”.
We just ran 16 miles yesterday as our long run for the week as we get ready for the Fargo Marathon at the end of September. We are working our way up each week, until we get to 20 miles. It is work, both mentally and physically. What is great about our run club is we are helping each other get to that marathon goal, because we know that it is easier to get there with help from others, and the challenge then is not so daunting “in the long run”.
The Watertown Area Running Club has been a group of dedicated runners that love to help each other out during those training sessions. Our running family does what it needs to do to help someone achieve their goal. It has always been that way, and I don’t see anything changing in regards to this over the future. We are all truly “in it for the long run”. The marathon is the final day, the final moment when all that training and work you did now comes to finality. The marathon is easy compared to the months of work you did getting ready for it. We truly can say we made it “in the long run”. Our goal to help each other is just as important as the goal of actually running a marathon. After all, we are distance runners. We are truly “in it for the long run” in more ways than one.
This goes for everybody else as well. Don’t give up on yourself. Our biggest limitation is the space between our ears, not physical limitations. If we have the right mind set, we are capable of doing so much more than we ever thought possible, and “in the long run”, we will get there!
So going forward, have no regrets. Be “in it for the long run”. I have said for years that anything worth having takes time to achieve. It does not just happen. You have to work for it. When you do work for it, then it means so much more when those moments happen. And then when you look back, you will find out that the journey along the way was more fun than the actual moment you were trying to achieve. Be “in it for the long run”, and you won’t have any regrets. Keep moving everybody!
Saturday morning there were a few of us out doing a long run. Many of us are getting ready for the Fargo Marathon in September. Sarah, Megan, and I had a “step down” week, and ran 10 miles. Next week will be 16, and then a 17 the next week. Jill had a 17 planned for this week. So, we worked in shifts. Some started off with her early, we came an hour later, and Jenn and Missy ran the whole thing with her. I can’t tell you how important it is to have somebody else running with you, or riding their bike along side you, during those long runs. Many times it would be too easy to just say “forget it, it is not worth it”! How many times in life do we have this come up? Whether at work, or something tough comes up at home, and we don’t have help, we just want to quit. When you have support, it is easier to get it done. Teamwork! Teamwork makes the dream work! Nobody needs to do this on our own, and nobody has to solve all of their problems on our own. We all need help sometime!
We are all helping each other. We are all backing each other up. We are supporting each other! That is how it works. That is how it should be! Whether in a group, made of up your friends, or family, or just your spouse…
…You support each other. Your have each other’s back. You stay active together, and when you do, it is so much more enjoyable, and not just work!
We are helping Megan train for her first marathon, and she is being very tough with it all. There is nothing easy about doing the marathon. The marathon itself is very rewarding, but the training leading up to it is the work. Over the years I have had many training partners doing these long runs, and we have always seemed to solve the worlds problems on these runs. Now if the rest of the world would listen to our advice, we would have it made! Hee Hee!
On any given Sunday, our Watertown Area Running Club meets, WARC, and we can have as few as a couple people, or a large group. We are all there because we like to run, but mostly, to support each other in our goals, and problem solving. It is a social event, not just a running event. I look forward to our Sunday runs. (now with the marathon coming up in September, we are also having these informally on Saturdays!)
The overall goal is we are working together to finish what we start. We all want to cross that finish line. The more important question though: Which finish line do we want to cross? The marathon finish line? The helping each other out finish line? Life’s finish line? Sometimes it is not easy to tell which finish line, nor is it important which one. They all blend together. They all interconnect. Running is just the means of which this can all occur.
Many of us from WARC were at the July 4 Freedom run. Running together. Cheering each other. Friends with each other. Does it really get any better than this? If you ever thought about joining us for a run, now is a great time. You don’t have to run a marathon to be a part of this. You can run as few of miles as you want…but we do meet to run…so keep that in mind too! So maybe we will see you some Sunday morning, 7AM, Summer time at Jackson Park, and Winter time at the Zoo. Keep moving everybody!
