The grass is always greener - but what happens if it is buried under 3ft of snow?

I know. I know. I should be thankful for the seasonal weather we get in Pennsylvania, but thankful and in love with are two totally different things. After this winter, I'm officially veto-ing snow and anything that has to do with snow, ice, white, cold, boots, shovels or mittens. Okay, maybe I'll cut mittens a break since at the present time, I don't officially own a pair of mittens and as a child, I loved my mittens and moon boots. Yes, it could be far worse - I get it. But all I'm asking for is a little mid-week melt down so that I can get my mail; move my car and go for a run outside. I'll settle for one out of three!

On a side note, as I continue my journey of tackling challenges, I'm up to running 8 miles, which technically is almost 1/3 of a marathon. I can't imagine running the other 2/3 of the 26.2 mile monster! This is going to be without a doubt my biggest challenge yet - and all amidst moving, having our first child, studying for a second career and trying to hold down my current one. Maybe I should be on a journey to be more lazy than ambitious...that sounds a lot more appealing right about now.

Sometimes Pleasure is wrapped in Pain

The more and more I run, and ache for that matter, the more I understand how sometimes pleasure can in fact be wrapped up in multiple layers of pain. I'm not sure if being an athlete in any sport requires one to be masochistic and revel in pain, but for all of those who love to hurt throughout the journey toward achievement, they definitely have a leg up on their competition.

Every time I personally reach a point of pain or distress, I find myself immediately reaching into the catalog of my thoughts and pulling out stories and images of people who I've personally been touched by and who always seem to breath life into a tough situation. I get so wrapped up in thinking about them or their role within my life that I blow through whatever wall had originally been in front of me. There always seems to be a wall around the corner so I'm trying hard each day to build up my bank of thoughts by surrounding myself with great people and the tremendous stories of the lives they lead.

Above, I've included a picture of my new best friend. Landice, I like to call her, because um, that's what is written on her 1970's barely lit LED keypad. Because I'm amidst a move and leaving this area in a month, I didn't want to join a gym and pay huge start and cancel fees just for a month of tread time. So, I looked up the local gym, just a short 5 minute drive, asked them if I could pay for a monthly membership with no fringe fees and they agreed. Now, I will say that for anyone who saw the movie "Dodge Ball" and remember Joe's Gym, owned by Vince Vaughn's character in the movie, they would wonder if the movie wasn't shot in the musty rooms and dim-lit halls of one Source Fitness in Ambridge, PA. Although it lacks style, cutting edge equipment, a swanky place to shower and change and pretty much anything else desired in a gym of choice, it is PERFECT for what I need it for and actually is better for me than any Bally's or 24-Hour Fitness. And if Source Fitness ever gets itself together and joins a dodgeball league, I'll definitely be betting on this unusual crew of vein poppers.

A total case of the Mondays.

Is it the drag felt from rolling out of a weekend and days off of work or is it just the depressing fact that you have five more days until your next weekend begins that makes a case of the Mondays so blah? Whatever it is, I have it today. Peeling myself out of bed this morning, I felt muscles ache that I didn't know I had - shoveling doesn't agree with me I guess. Once I made it to work (up ten stairs to my home office), I saw my voice mail filled to the gills with calls from participants for a conference that we had to cancel for this week because of snowmaggedon 2010. Lacing up my gloves for the ten round fight with the hotel to see if we can reschedule without massive cancellation fees, I get a call from the Real Estate Examination office saying I can't take my licensing exam this Saturday either because they still need one official form from me. By this time, it becomes go-time and the steam begins to leak from my ears and fury from my eyes as if I was Frankenstein on Red Bull. A case of the Mondays. Is it too late to go back to bed and pull the covers over my head?

Snow was a lot more fun as a kid...

I mean, I love snow, don't get me wrong. But 22 inches is a bit much especially when I'm the one who has to shovel all of it. As a kid, snowfall meant no school, snow suits and orange glider sled action all day long. We didn't care if the steps were cleared; if the cars could get out; if we had 1 gallon of milk in the house or 5 gallons and a week's worth of bread.......But I digress........with shovel in hand, I suited up in my winter armor (consisting of old AE moon boots, tear away track pants and gloves far to small for me) before tackling the mammoth wall of white ice yesterday morning. But before I went into battle, I asked myself three things:

1. Really....do I really need to go anywhere in the next three days...really?
2. Would it be easier to shovel or burrow my way out? And how does one even go about burrowing?
3. Why don't I live in Southern California?

Once I masterminded answers to these three questions, I decided that time was of the essence and the sooner I got a path dug for the dogs and to our cars the faster I could applaud my manhood and expert shoveling techniques and return inside like a soggy baby who needed hot cocoa. Look, I'm not proud of it but 22 inches in twelve hours can make a man act crazy ways.

Worst part is, this snowmaggeden or whatever the media has dubbed it canceled any chance I had at completing my long run for the week. I'm still undecided on what gym I can use while I'm at this house for the next month so running outside amidst the elements is my only arena right now for logging miles. Must find gym, and fast.

Mind over matter does in fact....matter.

Snow fell tonight as fast as the temperature but I really felt that I needed to pound pavement anyway and tweak out a few miles. Being a very novus runner, I'm constantly thinking about breathing technique, what hurts, what doesn't hurt, how far I have to go and how far I have come. I can't wait until all I focus on is the finish line - see me in a couple of months! No joke, intertwined within all of these thoughts were moments when all that I could hear while I was running were the lyrics from "Pants on the Ground"? Of all of the songs on my iPod and that's the one that kept ringing in my head. I promise, never again. I'm so ashamed.

Question: have you ever been so busy with things, with life, that you don't afford yourself even a minute to just sit quietly and realize how it all fits together? I think running over the next few months will give me a great opportunity to ask myself a ton of different questions mid-stride and actually be forced to take time and come face to face with the answers.

I think so many of us, especially myself, keep busy with so many different things because we don't ever want to be still; silent even. I admit, some of the most challenging times aren't when I'm doing something, but rather, not doing anything at all. You know I say this as I type on my laptop, have my tivo paused and ready to go, and position my Blackberry conveniently on my chest. BUT, all in a room filled with nothing but silence...surely that has to count for something, right? Do as I say, not as I do - what's wrong with me :-)?

Finishing strong requires you to first start somewhere...

Recent events have had me rethink the way I spend my breaths. My eyes have been saddly opened to the mortality of each of us but with it, I've also come to more emphatically realize that a life without regret is a life lived to its fullest.

With that being said, I want to push forward - break ground within my life - wrap my arms around things I've never thought possible while all along, if ever overcome by what is at hand, continue to thank God that I'm alive to even be apart of it.

While I lean in to Him and fight each day to strengthen myself on the inside, I have chosen to test myself physically by training for a marathon in a little under 3 months. I would argue though, even being in the infant stages of this challenge, that accomplishing this will require as much strength of mind and spirit as it will body. And, in the end, even if I don't finish, I will have won because I will have tried.