Intro to blog and a thought on unattained goals.

So here it is, my first ever blog, my first ever blog post.  By way of a brief introduction to what I'm doing here, I'll say this : Just because you may enjoy a given entry or direction I take one day, don't assume the next day will resemble it in any discernible way.  I'm doing this as much, and probably more, for me than for you.  A way to organize my thoughts, or at least the ones that I think may merit another visit at some point.  But if in doing so, you find a kernel of a concept or different way of looking at something that then gets you going in a creative or constructive direction, all the better.

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 Today while running I was pondering what goals I may pursue in the coming months with regard to training volume, racing, etc.  I enter a new age group this year, so as all runners know, I'm the "young one" in my five year group. (50 yrs. old as of about a month ago) There was a gentleman at least 15 years my senior running on the same indoor track at a somewhat slower pace, but clearly a very fit individual.  I wondered if he still raced at all and what goals he may be training toward.
  It was at this point, about two miles into the effort, that a thought dropped out of the ether and into my mind for consideration.  It arrived as a fully formed thought, just served up ready to examine. And that thought is one I have never consciously considered before.  Contrary to what I may have previously thought, it is not a good thing for a person to die having accomplished all their goals.  A person who is truly wringing all the life out of each day they have, should by definition die with unattained goals.  If not, then at some point they stopped reaching, stopped challenging themselves, kind of put ambition and adventure on the shelf.  Called it a day before the day was over.  Of course, since I was running at the time, I came back around to running for a quick check of this idea.  Sure, as I get older, I also get slower.  My fastest times at any race distance have been duly recorded and won't be bested by me.  However, that doesn't mean that I can't keep setting new and challenging goals for myself. Placing top three in my new age group in every race I enter this year.  Now there's a start. It's a challenging goal, one I will have to work hard to achieve, even though the goal of running my fastest ever 5k is really not a realistic one to consider.  So what!
 Every season of life, complete with some new limitations, provides opportunity for new goals.  And in my experience, working toward a goal keeps me sharp, motivated, and engaged in all areas of my life, including physical, mental, spiritual, social, nutritional, etc.  So I guess one of my new goals is to die falling short of achieving one or two goals I have set for myself at that point in time, whenever that may be.