Oh The Insanity

Have you ever felt a compulsion to do something absolutely insane for no good reason? Or at least no reason that you could adequately explain to someone else?

Apparently, I have. I am training to run a 5K. There's really not a good reason beyond that I feel I must prove to myself that I can do this. Which is a great motivator until I'm actually out running. Or, rather, jogging ever-so-slightly-faster than I walk.

I don't have any visions of grandeur, or winning, or even ever running very fast. That would be ridiculous. But then again, I already feel ridiculous gasping along the trail, yelling at Zippy to not go too far, urging Munchkin to keep up, and trying to keep the dog from pulling the stroller into the canal.

I can now do about 1/2 mile all at once. I can even do a couple 1/2 miles with just a little walking in between. But the 5K I want to run is in less than 4 weeks. I'm panicking a little. But I refuse to give up. Even if I end up walking parts of the race, I need to do this.

I roped my little brother into running with me. I have the feeling that, even though he started training after I did, and probably has less time to run between school and working, he'll kick my trash when we run together. It's a good thing we love each other. He'll forgive me for making him train to run while he's in school, and I'll forgive him for being younger, faster, and in better shape than me. It's a good trade.

This is one of those goals that seems to come out of nowhere, and really doesn't make sense. But it's a goal that is a driving force in my life right now. I have passion and desire to meet this goal, and I can't afford to waste it. Who knows, maybe after I meet this one, I'll actually be inspired to work on the rest that are languishing in my never-ending pile of "things I REALLY should be doing."

So, I want to know. What goal (whether seemingly impossible and insane or not) is stirring your passion right now? And what other ones are you ignoring?