January has come and gone. February is here, and more often than not it is accompanied by slippage in motivation. The prospect of a new year and new you are slowly drifting into the background. How can we keep that energy alive and well? How can we keep pushing forward? Shouldn't our everyday goal in life be to be better than we were yesterday?
After a couple tumultuous years of training I committed to make 2019 a strong, consistent year of training for myself. Fortunately for me I have the greatest of motivations, in that I want to ensure I am at my strongest so that I can be healthy and active for my daughters Harper and Hazel as they grow up.
Even with that motivation, I still need help somedays just to get out the door. Dave Calvert and I harass each other to no end, but he is still one of my greatest motivators to knock out a few miles. He knows when I'm dragging my feet, and know what buttons to push to get me out of my funk. My brother Andy is always ripe for an adventure, which helps keep me motivated. Andy is always willing to hop in my truck and take off on some crazy trip, even if it means kayaking through ice-cold water just to run back up river to retrieve the truck! Ryan Moran, who heads up Trail Crew, somehow puts up with my crap and drops everything to join me for a run when I give him 10 minutes notice, or sticks around waiting patiently when I show up 45 minutes late!
My point to all this, is that despite my being a pain in the butt, I have found amazing friends through this journey who are helping to keep me accountable. More often than not they roll their eyes at my audacious goals, or claims of epic adventures ahead. But they keep coming back. They keep me moving forward.
Many of you have found similar companions through MIT and the wide array of running events in Columbus. My hope is that my team at Fleet Feet + FrontRunner is helping to provide an ever growing network of support for you.
I'm often asked what drove me down this path of coaching MIT and working race and retail. The answer is simple. It is simply to provide more opportunities for Central Ohio to live a healthy, active lifestyle. Success in my eyes is seeing spouses coming to workouts together, parents bringing their children to races and fun runs, those same children joining their local track and cross country teams, friends and neighbors challenging each other to step challenges, or creating a neighborhood 5K.
Whatever motivates you, remember you have an amazing community around you with similar goals. Below I've laid out some of the opportunities we offer just to serve as a reminder that no matter the day, there are always people getting out a moving. Join us along the way, and you'll find all the motivation you need!
See you at the next workout!
Jeff