If you been reading this blog, you'll remember I talk about a lot of personal records I've set over this season. Setting records clearly means something to me, and I've recently come to realize that records can be grouped into two categories: 1) records that were meant to be broken and 2) records that can't be broken.
In that first category, I've set records for distance and pace. I was so proud of my first sub 10:00 mile, and then my first mile in the eights, and then my first sub-eight mile. I'm hoping to continue to improve. I've set a bunch of these records, and when other contestants or friends hear about them, I sometimes get a "well, I'll just have to beat that." The competition drives me, and I like it. Even if I don't hold a record for long, I know it was mine, and it feels good while holding it.
But the second category of records are awesome, and it doesn't matter who you are, you can obtain these frequently and meaningfully. What is a record that can't be broken? Doing something first. You can be the first among a team to do something, and that's cool. I've done a few of this season too, and it feels good. However, for now I want to consider personal milestones instead. For example, I've ran a lot of miles this season, but the first one I ran without taking a walk break is crystal clear in my memory. I've since ran it faster, but that first one is pretty darn special. Every time I try something I've never done before, I think "virgin territory" and I want to conquer. I want to do the never done.
Think of Neil Armstrong. Other people walked on the moon after him, and they were there longer, they covered more territory, they gathered more samples, and accomplished greater scientific objectives ... but most people need google to find their names. The guy who did it first? His name is etched in our collective minds as a hero. Be like Neil. Do something never done before, and in doing so take not a small step, but a giant leap for yourself.
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