I Stop When It Stops Being Fun

I have a half marathon coming up, end of October. I signed up for the Chicago Monster Dash so I could go see my sister and also do the run. As an aside, I accidentally booked the airfare based upon the Minneapolis date and not the Chicago date (Chicago is 10/21, not 10/27) and discovered that changing plane tickets is spendy business. It's been fixed, though.

I've been asked by numerous people if I would ever do a full marathon. In defense of the askers, most of these folks have actually finished a full marathon, so I consider it to be a more than reasonable question. The answer I have been giving is usually "no." The extended answer really is more of a philosophy than anything - I can run 13.1 miles. I know this to be true, because I've done it. Once a week (weather permitting), I go out and run at least 12 miles. I enjoy this. It's fun. I think that running a whole lot more than that would stop being fun. I also think that running 26 miles as opposed to 13 probably does not give you an exponentially increased health benefit. If I'm not getting paid for it, I'm not getting graded on it, and it isn't necessary to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, the only thing left is: is it still fun? I don't think 26 miles would be very fun.

On the opposite side of the coin, I bought a membership to Vertical Endeavors recently, but I am still just doing the Auto-Belays. I haven't gotten around to getting Belay-Certified yet. Why? Well... I'm still having fun with the Auto-Belays! I know I'll get Belay-Certified eventually, even if just to make it easier on the staff (they won't have to give me a wrist band anymore), but I'm not too concerned about it.

The genesis much of what I do in the physical-activity department really was to develop a healthy lifestyle, burn calories, etc., but the real test as to whether or not I will actually do something and stick with it isn't whether or not it's the most effective exercise for burning calories, or whether or not it's the most badass thing I can do - the real test is: is it fun? And when do I stop? I stop when it stops being fun.