I am about to hit week three of my six-month training program for the Marine Corps Marathon this fall. This is the first time in a few years I’ve done a structured marathon program and I’m really psyched for the experience. This will be my 12th marathon and I’m pretty sure my last…(for now, says she.) I want to embrace this as if it were the first time. I’m running at the same pace as I was 10 years ago at this point and while I have a much deeper wealth of experience, I don’t want to take this for granted. So I’m documenting. A lot. I’m taking lots of pictures and keeping a time lapsed album on facebook. Pictures of my Garmin, me, my dog, my knees, my feet, all with the hopes of staying on track and remaining accountable.
Part of me feels like this is a gross over-sharing of my life. I’ve been reading a lot about social media addiction and trying to be quite mindful of my compulsive desire to check instagram, facebook, email, twitter. As part of my life seeks to find balance of my social media, this other portion of me, the portion documenting training, seeks the accountability found in posting. For all the pro and con arguments on social media, I find the accountability factor quite fascinating. So I’m attempting to harness this element in order to keep me (extrinsically) motivated for training. As I teacher, I profess loudly against excessive uses of extrinsic motivators (rewards) for behavior and performance. As Sarah, I recognize that in this area of my life I need the accountability, so onward I post. For those that find it an unnecessary over-share, I simply ask they turn their heads.
I want to write more about my thoughts on social media dependence but oh, I have to go check on the #blend2013 posts on instagram. 😉
Want to hold me accountable? Remind me to keep going and don’t let me slack off!
RunSingTeach 