I came so close to not running today. When I awoke it was only 7°. The road conditions for running are still treacherous (not much better for driving). I really didn't want to run on the treadmill again. Karen told me it was okay and to just wait until Monday. I actually had the shower running and heated up, but I couldn't get in. I have three goal areas for the new year: 1) better time management, 2) better money management, and 3) better health and fitness. I stayed up late last night, slept in this morning, ate some conveniently located chocolate covered raisins and nuts just after I got up, and then was about to skip my planned 5 mile run. It didn't seem like a good way to start the new year, so I turned off the hot shower, put on my running clothes, and headed to the treadmill in the garage/gameroom. It was about 44° in the garage, comfortable for running. About 2.5 miles into the run I took off my knit gloves and outer long sleeve shirt. It's actually quite a blessing to have the milder temperature treadmill option so easily available during this unfriendly-to-runner weather and road conditions. I ran the planned 5 miles, most of it at 8:34 pace (7mph), with some slower warm up and cool down at the beginning and end, and a half mile of 9:00 pace in the middle. I realized that easy pace for me doesn't include sub-9:00 pace...yet. The 8:34 pace felt a lot like a tempo run. The good news is that I didn't feel any numbness in my feet. My right hip was pretty stiff and sore to begin with, but loosened up. I think it was aggravated by my first-time-in-a-long-time-and-probably-for-too-long-because-it-was-a-holiday basketball outing yesterday morning with my son and my old basketball buddies. I enjoyed it, and performed quite a bit better, than I expected. It was great. It may have convinced me to hold off my retirement from church basketball for another year. After I finished my run I walked laps around the pool table to cool down. I noticed the dart board with 10 darts sticking in it. We got some new darts for Christmas, three identical sets of 3 darts each, and there was one old dart in the board with them.I grabbed the darts and stopped and threw one on each cool down lap around the pool table. My experience led me to write the following parable this morning. It is factual, and describes quite accurately what really happened. I'm not much better at writing parables than I am at throwing darts, so don't expect too much: The Parable of the Old Man and the Darts An old man found himself alone in a game room. He noticed a dart board with ten darts. As he collected the darts he noticed that nine of them were identical, new and in great condition. The tenth dart did not match the others; it was old and worn. The old man stepped to the line. His goal was to hit as close to the bullseye as he could with each dart. Without much thought he tossed the first dart. It hit within a few inches of the bullseye. He didn't have much experience throwing darts and was encouraged. He threw a few more darts, each landing within a few inches of the bullseye. He pondered how he might improve his accuracy. He focused on squaring up his body to the dart board and throwing from a steady position with a smooth cock and release. He hit a little closer. He steadied his breathing as he threw. He hit a little closer. He focused on lining up the throw horizontally with the bullseye. He hit a little closer, knocking the fins off one of the previous darts. He focused on lining up the throw vertically with the bullseye, feeling the weight of the dart and judging the speed and trajectory required to hit the target at the height of the bullseye. The dart hit within the outer ring of the bullseye! He smiled at his success, but he had not yet hit the center of the bullseye. The old man held the last dart in his hand. He had saved the old dart for last. It wasn't as shiny and new as the other nine, but it's shape, size, and weight seemed the same as the others. It reminded him a little of himself. He could still do much of what he could as a younger man, but he was beginning to see and feel the affects of age. Still, it seemed to him that his body, like the dart, was still in good enough condition to serve its purpose. With the added wisdom of experience, he wondered if this old dart may have even a better chance at hitting the center of the bullseye than the other nine. He was confident as he steadied his body and his breathing, concentrated on his horizontal and vertical aim, judged the weight and required velocity of the dart, smoothly cocked his arm, then smoothly released the final dart toward its target. He anticipated the gentle thud of the dart hitting the center of the bullseye. The dart hit high and to the left. It was inside the inner ring, barely, but farther from the bullseye than any of the previous throws. He was a little disappointed, but not discouraged. He chuckled. Maybe it really is a little harder when you're older. He went on his way, feeling good. He had thrown all of the darts inside the inner ring, most of them grouped within a few inches, one close enough to knock the fins off another, and one had hit the bullseye, if only the outer edge. With age comes the wisdom of knowing that happiness is found where the results of effort meet or exceed expectations. A key is the balance of knowing when to increase effort and when to lower expectations. -- end of parable --
The parable is very applicable to my current running situation.
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