October 8 Miler

Fall is here and I, for one, am stoked about fall running. As a kid, the month of October was always my favorite. Growing up in a sports family, the MLB playoffs and World Series were on television, football season was in full swing, halloween and all the scary movies were prime for watching, and I was as feral as an alley cat running loose in the neighborhood. In 2002, the Angels and Giants were battling it out in the World Series. This was the first time two wild card teams had ever made it to the series. It was hyped and it was historic. As I sat there glued to the action, a new beat rose in the room as the game gave way to commercial break. The “8 Mile” trailer was released and the lyrics to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” hit like a bomb.

“His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy

There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti

He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready to drop bombs

But he keeps on forgetting what he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud

He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out

He's choking how, everybody's joking now

The clock's run out, time's up, over, blaow!

The movie was a critical success and the song has stood the test of time. 20 years on and it’s still a badass anthem to hard work, dedication, and desire. This month’s challenge is to download some inspiration and put in a solid 8 Mile running or 24 mile biking effort. As always, once you’ve completed the challenge, tag @Josh Pierce and @Ryan Mellem in the comment section of your run/ride and sign up for the event. One winner will be chosen at random. As always have fun, be safe, and anything worth doing is worth overdoing!