The Journey – 504.5 Miles, Meadview, Arizona:  
500 Miles and Counting!

The A2B Journey has officially covered 500 miles as of this morning!  Half way to quadruple digits!  Yes!!

So far, the A2B Route has taken me through Los Angeles, the Mojave Desert, Las Vegas, and Hoover Dam. The 500 mile mark sits just a few miles away from Grand Canyon National Park.  Soon I will get to do a loop on the Grand Canyon Sky Walk.

There are no bridges across the Grand Canyon.  The only choice is to go around it.  And, as it turns out, the Grand Canyon is quite . . . . well . . . . grand!!  As a result, most of the next 500 miles will be spent in Arizona.

In celebration of reaching 500 miles, I have attached the video of “500 Miles” by The Proclaimers.  Feel free sing a long!! At the top of your lungs, preferably!!

Thanks to all who have patiently followed the blog so far!  Your support is greatly appreciated. Please tell your friends and family!

Anyone who wants to join me for a while, come on! Let’s go!

The Run:  
I got up earlier than normal so that I could 1) spend extra time stretching my IT bands & hamstrings and 2) do a longer than scheduled run.

As I started my morning run, a very cold wind was blowing.  It seemed to cut through the layers of clothing.  I had to run cold for a few miles before my body would warm up and get comfortable.

About midway through today’s course, I picked up the pace quite a bit. I wanted see how it felt to run the faster pace over a longer distance (3-4 miles).

After a half mile, my body began to feign fatigue.  To help me push through, I found some fun music on my iPod (“Snails” by The Format). By mile 2, the weariness had worn away.  The new challenge became creating a long, comfortable stride to match the new tempo.  This will take some time and work.  But I was glad to get started!

I was even more excited to maintain pace all the way back home!

The Mind: 
During the run, I thought about a Facebook message that I read while stretching.  It was from a long-time friend who said he was thinking about taking up running as part of a new year’s resolution.  He asked what I thought would be the best way for him to get started.

My initial thought was to ask him if he likes to run.  Running, like any exercise or sport, is really about life-style change. Or at least, it should be!!!  It is about commitment.  If you plan to make that kind of move with your life, it is best to do something that you will enjoy.  Put another way, you are going to spend a tremendous amount of time and energy running. So you should at least like it.  That principle equally applies to any activity or pursuit (which makes me really wonder about the day job)!!

Over the years, I have participated in other sports.  The list includes golf, tennis, volleyball, soccer, and countless others. But, I always came back to running.  I love it!  But, it is not for everybody.

So I would recommend to my friend that he find an activity that he enjoys and provides satisfaction.  If it is running, then fantastic!  If it is something else, do that!  And it may not be directly sports-related.  I know people that have a passion for zumba, yoga, dance, gardening, etc.

Loving what you do is absolutely essential as you move from the “getting started” to the “never stopping!”  This is important because the greater joy is in sticking with it.  (That is one of the BIG secrets of seeing BIG goals through to the end!)

Finally, this reminded me of something I had read once a long time ago.

The secret to running is . . . . . running.

This is true for anything and everything.  The best way to do something is to simply do it.  (I am starting to believe this is how successful people succeed. They We just do stuff!)

I use this principle every single day, as I rarely wake up excited to run.  But like jump starting a car, the best way to start the car is to start the car.  So I get up and start by starting.

I suppose that is the key to fulfilling any good desire – to just do it!

What is your secret to go from the “getting started” to “never stopping?”   Please share at:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/A2BRun
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunA2B
Email: a2b@sub4minds.com
Or in the comments section below.