Leap (CC6)

Good morning Toastmasters!

Have you ever leapt feet first into doing something and then thought … ooopps I should have probably engaged my brain first before stepping into this? I recently got myself in to such a predicament thanks to PJ. Yes PJ, it’s all your fault.

I listened to a speech given by PJ and got all gung ho about the topic he spoke about. It made me recall the days when instead of reaching for the remote control after work I would instead reach for my running shoes. PJ shared with us his participation in marathons and I thought, jolly well then, with some sweat, sore muscles, and less sugar-happy eating habits, I could probably do that, or maybe half of that.

So a week or so latter I had a new goal in my life – to run a half marathon before leaving this sunny, warm, country where it never rains. I went online and found a few Toronto half-marathons in October and bookmarked them as possibilities. I checked my exciting new goal against the usual SMART criteria for sizing up goals: was it simple – sure! measureable – yeah! was it timely – absolutely! It was really late in the night when I did this so it wasn’t until much latter that I realized I’d skipped over the A & R - achievable and realistic - part of the SMART check. Be sure not to do this when setting goals– trust me, you’ll probably regret it!

But there I was on my “low-sugar high” in a haze of clueless stupidity. Running gear, $100 dollars; sport watch, $70; being too delusional to realize you are out of your mind, priceless.

For the first month I was so dedicated I developed a special relationship with a treadmill in the gym – it was right near a large glass window and it made a nice happy thud sound when I jogged on it. If someone was on my special treadmill when I came into the gym, I would silently channel “you need to leave now & have a pizza” thoughts to them and hope it would get them to vacate my spot. And can I tell you it worked 90% of the time. Each day my treadmill and I would meet, move to some reggae music, and part with the satisfaction of knowing that we each in our own little way were contributing to a healthier world.

But what goes around comes around. Those little pizza thoughts were a boomerang. They came back to me upsized with double mozzarella cheese and pepperoni plus a side order of garlic bread. And packets of sugar began to talk to me when I walked past coffee stores. They said “how could you! I’ve always been here for you! I’m one of the key employers in your country. Think of all the Jamaican workers who will lose their jobs if you don’t get back to consuming couple of teaspoons of sugar per day”. But the due diligence skills I have learnt as a Risk Manager saved me – I checked the fine print on those packets of sugar and none of them said “made in Jamaica”. That was it! I learnt sugar may taste sweet but it was one bitter little liar. And I’ve ignored it since.

So, by month two I had gotten the better of my caloric cravings and started my outdoor runs. There is something about the mix of the sun and the smog on a downtown Toronto evening that is just so, so – energizing. Sun and a little intermittent rain – no problem. But then things changed - it seemed that winter decided that she wasn’t quite finished with 2008. We need to define a term here – my definition of winter is whenever the temperature is low enough to cause me to shiver. It was August, I was shivering, and occasionally being drenched did not help. My gung-ho spirit was being beaten into the pavement with every run by the resurgent evil spirit of winter. After one run in the chill of the night in early August, I crawled home. My mind was blank; after it ‘defrosted’ the only thought that appeared was “this is all PJ’s fault”.

The thought was so ridiculous that I sat there and began to laugh out loud. I must have laughed for a good while because I think I was still laughing right up to when I dozed off to sleep. And the next day, a Saturday, I woke up & leapt feet first out of bed and out of the apartment and out to the pavement, and I didn’t give anything but the rhythm of my running feet a thought. I don’t worry anymore about what my brain thinks of my goal because it always seems to be a step or two behind the action anyway. So with the safety net of knowing that if I fall short of my goal I can save face by blaming PJ, I continue to leap feet first and pray that one day I’ll figure out how to use my fancy sports watch.

(September 2008)
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