A Body in Motion Stays in Motion

I.

I am.

I am training.

I am training.  We hear these words often, generally from professional athletes or from that one friend that always seems to be doing something.  I am training.

These people are training their bodies to withstand the rigors of action.  They are training their bodies to perform toward an expectation they have in their mind.  The body and the mind.  The human animal and the human spirit.  I am training.

I read a post online from a guy who is widely known as The Hike Guy.  Very little ambiguity about what his specialty is, right?  First and foremost, he is an adventurer of trails and mountains and places that take us away from the man-made structures and into the beauty that lies beyond.  He is also an artist of incredible talent, and journals his trips in notebooks.  This is a guy who has spent a lot of time on his feet walking.  His posts are great, full of humor and most often, wisdom.  Today’s post he mentioned that he often gets asked how he can afford to go on so many adventures.  His response was that it is essential to schedule a date for your adventure, because “someday” is hard to plan for.  Having a clear goal makes it easier to plan.  Easier to train.  I am training.

A body in motion tends to stays in motion, while a body at rest tends to stay at rest.  It is the couch principle.  We sit on the couch all day watching Facts of Life re-runs only to get up and realize we are tired from not doing anything all day.  Some days we are motivated to rise and get out of the house because we have something special to do, and then realize we could do this and that as well while we’re out.  While we’re out.  Maybe these are oversimplifications of the point, but the point remains.  A body in motion stays in motion.  And nobody ever crossed the street standing still.  We can only accomplish something, anything, if we are in motion to do so.  We have to be prepared to accomplish something, anything.  We have to train.  I am training.

For anyone who has read my blog or my book “Lifting a Foot Forward: A Lesson in Balance”, you will know that I am a huge baseball fan.  Spring and summer are my favorite seasons for sport.  As we jump headfirst into the baseball season this week, I am excited about the possibilities to come for my favorite team.  But baseball is more than just sport for me.  It also offers a blueprint on how I can structure my life.  Part of that structure is the Nine Roles of Balance.  As there are nine players in a field working as a team to accomplish a goal, so too are there Nine Roles in your life working as a team to accomplish the goal of Balance.  Balance is health and happiness.  One my essential roles to Balance is Motion.  It is one of the keys to a balanced body.  The human animal.  But we’ve got to do it and not just talk about it.  We have to train ourselves how to sustain a routine.  I am training.

I ran yesterday for 3.8 miles.  I ran from point to point, giving myself a place to start and a destination to aim for.  Part of my run yesterday was uphill, and it sucked.  But I kept eyeing the next driveway or light pole as a goal to reach, and I kept telling myself “Keep Going.”  Eventually the road evened and I was on flat ground and the running became easier.  Eventually the road became downhill and the running became easier.  Eventually I could see my destination in the distance.  And finally, I reached my destination.  And so I stopped, and recorded my run with the app on my phone.  I stood there, waiting for the results of my run, breathing full and sweating.  And as my phone processed my run, I silently wished I had kept running.  I wished that I had put more time and more mileage on my run.  A body in motion tends to stay in motion.  It was the furthest in one run that I had gone since I was training for organized sport in high school.   Since I was training.  I am training.

It would be easy for me to make excuses why I shouldn’t run or walk.  Yesterday was a perfect example.  The weather was cool and windy, with clouds gathering at the foothills near my home threatening rain.  I could walk out my front door and be cold and maybe even wet.  Inside I would have been warm and dry.  But at rest.  I didn’t want to be cold and wet.  It is easy to make excuses why I shouldn’t go for a run, but the only person that hurts is me.  Me.  So I went.  And I was cold at first, but then I warmed up.  And the road was tough at first, but then it got easier.  Not easy, but easier.  There were moments when I slowed as if to stop, but I didn’t.  I corrected my pace and kept going.  I went.  Each step closer to my goal.  And the clouds parted and I was blessed with one of the most amazing sunsets I’ve seen.  A glorious burning canvas of color and light, as if to say “Here is just another reward for coming outside when you wanted to stay in.”  I could have made excuses, but what would I have missed?  Too much.  I am training.

I have a goal.  April 14^th, 2013 – Mt. Baldy, California.  On that day I will climb a 10,064’ mountain to raise money and awareness for wounded U.S. veterans.  I will be in wild, though often traveled back country.  I will be climbing into thin air, on a mountain that has claimed countless lives.  On a mountain that tried to claim mine.  I will be representing men who fought for our country and paid a price no man or woman or child should ever have to pay.  I will be inspired and I hope, to inspire others.  And though I am proud of my dedication to the worthiness of this cause, and the efforts I have made to contribute, this cause is not my only goal.  I have a goal, for me.   I have a goal to be in the best physical shape in my life.  To be healthy and happy and find balance.  My goal is to push the boundaries of what is possible for me.  I have a goal of how I want to look and how I want to feel.  I have logged nearly 70 miles on the road in the last 30 days to achieve my goals.  I have worked hard and am pushing myself each day I go out.  I am training.

I.

I am.

I am training.