George/Mary Ann Was Right!

It's been one of those weird weeks. Torn. That's what I've been. Torn. Yes/No, Too Old/Just Right. Shoulda/Coulda/Woulda. What's he talking about?

I've been doing two things this week: booking classes for the rest of 2015 and trail running lots of miles while focusing on getting extremely fit. Outside of those things and my wonderful evenings hanging out with my wife, Linda, not much else is happening. In a lot of ways I like that. Keep it simple, right? Well, both of those things have been going so well that the overriding theme of the week, at least in my mind, has been, "Why wasn't I doing these things twenty years ago?"

Twenty years ago, had these activities been squarely on my plate, I could have "been a contender, I coulda been somebody." Well, I was somebody twenty years ago and still am, but maybe you know what I mean. I think it can be difficult in life to find new passions in your, so called, twilight years. There is a part of the brain that says, "you're doing well, you're having a blast, but guess what? You are 63 years old and you can't do this for much longer. You missed your chance."

It's the classic devil-angel confrontation (see picture above).

"George" Eliot - Good Angel

George Eliot said, "It's never too late to be what you might have been." George Eliot, by the way, was really named Mary Ann Evans. George/Mary Ann was an author, probably most famous for the book Silas Marner. Well, George/Mary Ann not only hit the nail on the head, but showed up right on time. It is NEVER too late to become what you might have been, it is NEVER too late to have passion for life, it is NEVER too late to maximize the moment. Take THAT, devil shoulder!

So with George/Mary Ann firmly attached to the winning shoulder, here's what I did this week: I booked five classes for the remainder of 2015 AND four for 2016. I will, by weeks end, run 90+ miles for the seven days, the most in AGES. I have entered my first Ultra Marathon, the North Face Challenge 50K (31+ miles) in December. And...... I feel like I'm just getting started. Busy ass, trail running Rich.

Yeah baby, we're on a roll. And what do you do when you're on a roll?

You keep rolling.