Goals Obtained - Setting new artificial goals
04-10-07, 4:50 AM

Finally, I�m a Powerball Winner! Years and years after impulse purchases or the occasional ticket when the jackpot approached a hundred million, I finally won the god damn Powerball! Unbelievable as it may sound, the Powerball finally paid-off! I matched two numbers! Wooo whoo! A whopping $4! I�m not complaining, rather I�m honestly happy to finally have matched two numbers, a white and red ball, which entitles me to some change. What will I do with this windfall? Invest in four more tickets!

Eighteen days until the Big Day where I race both to the finish line and the alter, er, rather minister in hotel lobby. Everyday, I�ve been visualizing running the half marathon and pushing my heart and lungs to the limit. I must admit, I�m a bit nervous about the race as I�m testing my limits on speed.

My goal for the Derby Marathon is to qualify for a better starting corral at the Chicago Marathon by finishing the half marathon under 1:45:59 or 1:35:59 for the �C� and �B� corrals, respectively. I believed, the �C� corral was possible as it translates into a 8:05 mile pace whereas the �B� corral was a stretch with an average pace of 7:19 per mile, hence I�ve been pushing myself during the workouts and even incorporated weight lifting the past few months, which I might add, made me �fucking hot�! (A phrase Tonia and I used when asked �why do you run marathons?� Answer: �To be fucking hot!� � it seemed to motivate us through an ability to be cocky.) Any rate, my stated goal was the �B� corral knowing the �C� corral was obtainable and my fallback. This last week, I learned my previous marathon time qualified for the �C� corral! Both good news and bad news as now I really have to push because there is no �fall back goal� .

As the wedding approaches, I�m beginning to become more comfortable and enthused, especially about the honeymoon on a cruise ship � a well deserved vacation. Letting go of the past is still difficult as I continue to Google previous girlfriends to see how their lives turned-out � one even, wrote to me after seeing I searched her name on one of the former classmates websites. She is now married and also a runner. We�ve made arrangements to reunite during the Chicago Marathon and visit with the �old gang�.

�Now that I�m getting married, what is there to look forward to other than death?� Probably wasn�t the best thing to jokingly say aloud with Karen present. Without kids on the horizon, marriage and death are the last of life�s milestones as graduations are now over for the both of us. I guess it�s time to fill the gap with a bunch of life experiences � hopefully exciting and fulfilling.

Yesterday - Tomorrow