Blast from the Past

First of all, no, I am not going to include a picture every time I add a post. But once the old box of photos came down and I began tripping down memory lane there were so many stories to tell. This photo is from the Azalea Trail Run 10k in Mobile. Can you guess the year? If you are confused, that is me-bib number 2685. Not the shirtless muscle guy (it was about 39 degrees) and not the tall Donnie Osmond guy wearing 4 layers of shirts. Also not the lady wondering where her husband is--he was sure he would finish up front. Yes, I am the one in the VERY small running shorts. Looking back at pictures like this is why I know for certain that the folks now wearing shorts almost to their ankles and pants below their....well, very low will be embarrassed when they see pictures of themselves a couple of decades from now. Have you guessed the year yet? Nope, it was March 1981, just a couple of days before I turned 27. I only have a couple of "running pictures" from this period even though I ran a lot and raced a good bit. It shows in my physique. My mom dislikes these pictures because she always worried that I was too skinny and malnourished during those years. That has not been a concern for some time now. Which is why I publish this post now; so that the folks who knew me then and the folks I have met since will see that I was not always white of hair and bulky of body. But mostly to remind myself when the 5 mile runs down Ft. Toulouse road seem so long and soooo hot that I have become a runner before and can again. I mean a real runner, not a jogger. I am a jogger now and it embarrasses me. I know the days of sub 40 minute 10k's are gone and don't really desire to be as thin as in this photo. But between where I am now and where I was when this photo was taken is a lean, fit, fast 52-year-old. It can be done! It will be done. The first step is thinking like the runner I plan to be. More and more I am convinced of the power of "As a man thinketh, so is he". I see the power of habitual thoughts in the bible, in some of the most influential books I have read, and in the group therapy I am involved in through the Pre-trial Diversion program of the District Attorney's office. The second step is becoming accountable. That is why I am putting the idea on the internet for any and all to see. Now it is more than an internal personal goal. Folks are watching, judging (o.k., maybe giggling) to see how lean and fast the silver-haired (see Proverbs 16:31) can become. Feel free to ask about progress and leave comments. Words of encouragement are welcome but sometimes I respond better if you say it can't be done. Either way, let me know what you REALLY think.