Not So Great Expectations

One should always have a goal in mind.  A goal gives you something to work towards.  You don't want to set your goal too low, because that's cheating and returns little reward.  And you don't want to set your goal too high, because that's setting yourself up for disappointment.  When I first started running, I signed up for a full marathon (that's 26.2 miles folks) with a fabulous organization called Team In Training that trains you for athletic events and in exchange you agree to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  My goal for that marathon was to finish.  Absolutely nothing more.  And I did. 

So what's my goal for Secret City?  I'm still pondering.  Just finishing seems too low of a goal.  Beating my personal record of 2:01.06 with just 3 1/2 months to train seems quite daunting since I haven't ran in a year.  So what is a reasonable expectation for me?  Do I expect to lose weight during my training?  Cough*Cough.

Naaaa.  Not with Babycakes right down the street from my office!  Today is a recovery day.  Cupcakes help everyone recover, hello!

During my lunch breaks I often listen to podcasts from http://www.livingontheedge.org/.  (Amazing site!)  Today's podcast was about..... yep,  you guessed it, Expectations.  Pastor Chip Ingram said today that disappointment equals the difference between your expectations and your experience.  Now that I have the equation, I should be able to avoid disappointment, right?  Applying my legal logic, my experience depends on my expectations. 

Dear Lord, let my expectations be reasonable and me not be disappointed.  But let my expectations be great enough to make my experience whole.  Amen.

Six miles tomorrow.... wish me luck!