Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Day 501- I think courage is a tough word that gets overlooked

What if god’s gift to us was our life and what we make of our life is our gift back to him.

I once asked someone to fill in the blank on this statement. Life is ____________. The person’s reply was what you make of it. That is true. We all are dealt the cards and have to make our cards work for us. One American stood in front of a huge crowd chanting his name and proceeded to give one of the greatest speeches in history. The crowd and the world were shocked to find out that the speaker used no notes and just spoke from his heart. Here are the words that speaker used that day:

Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.
Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career to associate with them for even one day?
Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert - also the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow - to have spent the next nine years with that wonderful little fellow Miller Huggins - then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology - the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy!
Sure, I'm lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift, that's something! When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies, that's something.
When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles against her own daughter, that's something. When you have a father and mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body, it's a blessing! When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed, that's the finest I know.
So I close in saying that I might have had a tough break - but I have an awful lot to live for!
I think we all know who delivered that speech.

http://www.focusonals.com/louspeech.htm

Thanks to Mr. Gehrig's speech I am ready to embark on another day on my journey.

I gave it my all. I was challenged once again @ 30 to 45 minute mark. With no intention to be dramatic but that is where I lost my streak. I chugged to a 462 in 1st 30. Which is okay if you have a big kick lined up. When you have no big kick ready to roll you risk the chance of losing your shot at 15 a minute and 900 an hour. Well, that is what happened. I made a strong maniacal run at the end when I needed 22 in the last minute but fell short. So now, I have a new target to shoot at 20 in a row of 900. Just as 1014 is my aim everyday.I can now add 20 @ 900+ everyday.

As I think back on certain feelings I had when I was young. I remember enjoying running. I enjoyed the freedom it allowed me to feel. My two favorite movies when I was around 12 to 15 years of age were "The loneliness of the long distance runner" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056194/plotsummary
and "Running Brave"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086220/
It may explain my love for riding and working out.

Now I am off my non go to work mode. End of vacation? I suppose.
Well, 502 awaits - Since 501 is done!

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