Stefan's Insights

Image by Paul Morgan via Flickr Monday, 4/27/9 Running with the group at work for a 5 mile along the Lakeshore. I am caught off guard on how humid it is and end up huffing and puffing and walking the last 1/2 mile back to the office. Lesson learned – i have to adjust my speed based on weather conditions, and drink more water when the temperature is higher.

Image by Marcos Vasconcelos Photography via Flickr Saturday morning – 7 am. Oh boy, it is early and I am on my way to meet others that have signed up to run the Marathon in Maui in support of the efforts of the Aids Foundation. I was surprised to find about 60 others to be there. The more I listened to them explaining how things work (slowly building up, run & walk at your pace), the more confident I became that my age and ‘ring of experience’ around my waistline will not hold me back to achieve this ambitious (26.2 miles) goal. We started with a 3 mile run at your own leisure pace to determine who else runs at your speed and to bring them together as a running group. I am getting excited about this. Fundraising is a bit new to me, but I am sure that I will learn. I even set up a ning social networking group ( http://mauimarathon2009.ning.com/ ) for the runners to be able to connect to each other online and share their experiences and lessons learned.

Thought about some statement that friends made about being online often isolates someone from the ‘real’ world. My experience is the opposite. I have never been as connected as I am now, where I talk to a lot of people in person, as well as online. For example, I re-connected with people from Germany, old friends and working colleagues, who otherwise would not run into me in person. Used appropriately and with caution, being connected can be a wonderful help in establishing, keeping and/or re-establishing human connection.