First Steps
The hardest step of any goal is the first one. On November 1, I took my first step towards finishing a marathon again. After breaking my foot in June, I have been shy about running again. The foot was good to go by October 1. My mind needed to be reassured that it was good. My body was definitely not ready. Oh well, you can't reach your goal without taking that first, hard step.
When you get this old, your body can be harder to convince than your brain. On June 12th I was feeling good about myself. Over a 20 day span, I had finished a marathon, 2 10ks, and a 5k. Then while shooting hoops with an 8 year old girl, my granddaughter, I broke my foot. It wrecked my plans, but luckily I was still able to work. The plan was to really work on my 5k time over the summer and be in really decent shape at the start of marathon training.
By mid September, I was able to run a little bit. By the time our truckin' runners face book group had our annual 5k, I could run a little over a mile. The rest I would have to alternate between running and 
walking. I finished the 5k in 33:51. That was not exactly encouraging. OH WELL! We all have to start where we are at the time. Today, (11/4) I was able to get to the 2 mile point before I walked. 196 days until the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon - I have hope.
Even when I was fast, I was slow. In my high school cross country days, I might get to be the 5th man out of 8. Most days, I was 7th or 8th. Yes, I still strive to be a faster runner. My annual goal is to beat my age in a 5k. I did accomplish that goal on a treadmill last year. I even got a 3rd place in my age group at one of the 10ks that I ran. I strongly suspect that there were only 3 guys in my age group.
At this point, my main goal should be to just keep moving. Many of you know that sudden death from heart disease has struck my family hard. We have lost both of my brothers, my dad, and 3 of my grandparents to this. That is motivation. For truckers, developing a regular exercise routine is a challenge. I understand how hard it is. We just all have to realize that it is worth it.
On this site we try to help owner operators to find ways to succeed. In our business our health has to be part of our buisness plan. A health event like a heart attack, can ruin our business, if we survive. We need to work at least as hard for our health as we do for our fuel mileage. Set a goal. Have a plan. Take that first step.