Lofty. Ambitious. A soaring peak. The top. A vivid image of a place yet unseen. A goal. A vision. Directed purpose. Do you see it? Go.

Of all the accounts iv'e read of people climbing Everest, none of them began without a dream. The powerful vision of standing on top. This goal drives people to endure untold pain, and to cross unforeseeable obstacles. Where the outside world sees foolishness, the climber sees fulfillment. The peaks on the horizon draw them.

On my current horizon is the Missoula Marathon. To me, running a marathon still seems preposterous. I mean, 26.2 miles on foot, on purpose? My longest run to this point is 8 miles, and trust me is wasn't pretty. I watched Lesley train right past me as she prepared for the half-marathon last year. She's an animal. So proud of her. It's difficult though to stand at the finish line and watch people triumphantly finish and not feel a bit jealous. Yes, it's selfish, but I want to share in that feeling. So there it is. The mountain before be. The Missoula Marathon. Go.

Keep moving

One foot in front of the other. One more step down this road. Breathe in, breath out. Simple, but difficult. Painful, yet rewarding. Years of apathy slowly melting away. Keep moving.

This fitness journey started awhile ago. I can't really point to a specific moment when things clicked. There was no crisis moment. Thank the Lord there was no crisis moment. Instead there was a persistent urge. An unspoken desire for change. Then, together one day we simply decided to choose a different path. One that was better for our family, better for us. The important part was together. Accountability is paramount. If you could keep yourself accountable you wouldn't be in this mess. Right? We started simple. We changed our eating in realistic ways, and added regular exercise. The equation is simple. Eat less and move more. No magic. Just lots of sweat. Keep moving.

    Shortcuts are a lie. Yes, we can and often do shorten our paths. Yet we arrive at our destinations ill prepared to be there. When we exchange growth for convenience much is missed along the way.
 "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." 
    I've taken many shortcuts in my life. Physical and Spiritual. This blog is a chronicle of my journey down a different path, one less taken, the long way.