TOTALLY AWESOME REALISATION POST

OK, so I have to update you on Vegan Challenge (there has been a slip-up) and the duathlon I ran today (harder than I thought, lots to learn from that one) but I realised something totally amazing today and it takes precedence and I'll write about cheese some other time.

It's me! Running! Photo courtesy of Gary O

I'm on a huge documentary kick at the moment. I have a cool TV but I can't seem to get it working with the aerial cable that comes into my flat (apparently I need a freeview box). I've managed without for about 4 months now so I think I'll keep things as they are, especially as my DVD player has USB slots and there are thousands of documentaries on youtube and other places for my delectation. Today, after the duathlon that was much harder than I thought it would be (there's a lesson in that), I decided to unwind with a couple of programmes about mountaineering (I also do a little rockclimbing from time to time). I put on one about Everest and the thought struck me "Hey, that would be something awesome to do, maybe as a 35th birthday present?".

Then it struck me.

I JUST THOUGHT SERIOUSLY ABOUT CLIMBING EVEREST LIKE IT WAS TOTALLY POSSIBLE.

And it is. It'd be hard, it'd require a HUGE training commitment and a lot of money, but it's not outside the realm of possibility at all.

The reason I mention this is that training and getting fit opens up worlds like this. The more you train and the further you push yourself, the more you realise what is possible, given enough time and effort. When I first started working out, I thought in time frames of days or weeks. Then it became "I'll train for this 10k which is a few months away". Now I'm focusing on a half marathon in April. Then the full marathon in October, which is quite a ways away. I know it'll be hard, but I also know I can do it with enough preparation. Now, I'm thinking years ahead. I was looking at the website for the Speights Coast to Coast race the other day, thinking "It looks hard, maybe 2014?" but it didn't register how big a deal thoughts like that really are at the time.

The truth is, events like Coast to Coast, the marathon, Everest, or whatever you fancy, are not out of reach. The people who do these things are not members of some other species, they're people like you and me who just decided to quit with the excuses and take a long view with small steps. I know I'm not fit enough to run a marathon now, but I know with a few months of graft I will be. And that's pretty amazing.

If you want an example of someone who cut the excuses and is achieving amazing things, check out Allan Ure. I met Allan through motorcycling and he showed me some photos of before he started cycling and running (talk about change!). He's now raising money for Muscular Dystrophy by running marathons in full motorbike leathers (see the video!) and plans to run the length of New Zealand in February next year with his running partner. An ordinary guy, just like everyone else, who's looked beyond this week or this month's goal to something bigger and better.

This is what fitness can do for you, it makes pretty much everything you like feasible, given enough graft.

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Back to more mundane things next time, and there's a review of Qube 8-Ball bearings coming soon!