Mon, Tues, Wednesday... Days 38, 39 & 40

Tonight after I finish with clients, I am taking a group of friends/clients to Sedona Arizona to participate in the festivities surrounding the Sedona Marathon.  With ages ranging from 21 - 70 and athletic abilities ranging from pretty good to "ehhhh," we are going to be the most eclectic looking group the race has ever seen.  And to top it all off, we will be wearing capes and potentially super hero paint to keep our identities a secret.  Of the eight of us: two will be running the 5k race, four the 10k race, and two the half marathon.

I am especially looking forward to the half marathon.  One of my clients/friends is running his first ever half marathon.  Running 13.1 miles is significant by itself, but what makes it even more amazing is in the last year and a half he has lost over 120 pounds.  When I first met him in September of 2009 he could NOT run one quarter of a lap around a college track.  That is equal to about 2/3's of one city block.  Not very far at all.  He has worked so hard last year and a half to get him self to this point where he can run the race.  It is going to be a very special experience for him and I am really excited to be there to witness it.

I am excited for the whole up and coming weekend.  I am excited for the challenges, the experiences, I am excited for the bonding time I get to have with my friends... we are driving through the night, approximately 600 miles to get to where we will run the race.  Friday will be a day of exploration... I am planning on going to the famous "Snoopy Rock,' visiting at least one energy vortex, and many other touristy things before resting for the race Saturday.

After the race we are going to drive another 4 hours to Las Vegas for a night of celebration for everyone's hard work.  The best part through all of this is we will still be wearing our super hero capes from the race.  Great fun indeed.

It is so great having events, moments like these to look forward to.  They are what keep me going, what keep me excited about life.  I'll be the first to admit, I get tired, I get frustrated, I get down on myself.  I have had a blast the first 40 days of the 1000 Challenge, but there have also been times during it where I feel worn out and question myself for taking it on.  It requires a lot of extra time on my part and for me to stay as committed and as excited about it as I want to be, I need to have events like this coming weekend to look forward to - we all do.

It just changes the game.  As of this writing I have completed 110 unique experiences for the 1000 Challenge.  The ones that have been the most memorable have been the ones I have gotten to share with my close friends.

Many of you have written to me sharing with me stories of how you are creating your own lists to take on now.  I think it is awesome that you are making the choice to do so.  The best piece of advice I can give you to make sure you stay focused and excited to tackle your list is to make sure you have some communal challenges in there as well.  Some challenges that you and your friends can experience together.  It does not matter what it is or how big or how small, what matters is you just do them.  I promise you that the experience will be enhanced, the memories will last a lifetime, and you will be left invigorated to check off the next item on your list.

On that note, I want to share a few pictures of some of my most recent experiences with all of you, my friends from around the world.  But, before I do that, I wanted to remind you all to check out the article that Kelly Kuebler, from Siena Heights University in Michigan did on the 1000 Challenge Click Here to check out the article.

Enjoy the pics,

Carpe Diem,

Jesse