Pledges and Carbonated Drinks

One chilly morning in Jacksonville Florida, I woke up to a lot of hoopla on TV about the Gate River Run. Not thinking much about it, I proceeded to my second nap of the day. an hour later, the fastest runners had already finished the 15 kilometer run while thousands more followed. Waking up to this amount of adrenalin on TV filled me up with gumption. Never before had I hated my lethargy so much.

An iPod Nano, Nike Plus shoes and a registration on the Nike Plus website later, I was pledging one of my most original, heart felt and sincere pledges. "if I dont finish 15K Gate River run in 2009, I will give up Soda and sweet tea for 2009"

I have started to run but it does not seem to work for me. The aim of finishing the 15K marathon is not a solid enough goal for me. It is a too strenuous activity for a very distant goal. I dont particularly enjoy running. Moreover, the reason for me pledging in the first place was probably not as concrete as I thought it was.

Running to protest against my laziness is very negative. It makes me feel bad about myself. My other activity of bicycling to work and errands to be more active, save the environment and be independent from cars and foreign oil is much more positive in its goals.

Hence, I quit my pursuit of the pledge. I understand that there is a penalty. I have to give up soda and sweet tea for 2009. There should be a greater penalty for leaving the effort though. Something to teach me to think harder before going into a commitment. So, I hereby give up soda and sweet tea for the remaining 2008 and all of 2009. I wont be substituing it with beer. Just water.