Twenty-Two Miles of Resistance

What or why do we get up everyday, bathe, eat breakfast and go to work? What causes us to continually move forward? Is it in our DNA? Or, is it deeper that our genetic makeup?

When asked the above questions others have answered, "What's the alternative?" They got me there. So, I guess that's why I kept putting one foot in front of the other on a recent long and uncomfortable twenty-two mile training run. Even though the views of the newly landscaped Randall's Island are spectacular and the fall bloom of Central Park magnificent, I just couldn't get out of the question, "Why am I doing this?" (Resistance possibly?) Besides the obvious that I committed to run the NYC and Philadelphia marathons with two friends and that I like my runner's waist line, I was focused on the question of who has more courage, the finisher or the quitter: the survivor or the felo-de-se? I think that it takes a lot of courage to get up everyday and continue on in the face of adversity especially, in today's political and economic climates. So too does it take courage to move through debilitating depression and anxiety which, causes some to think and feel that the best option is to stop keeping on.

I do have mild irritation over the industrialized world's mantra of work hard, amass more. The empty and commercial driven "just do it's" and the get aggressive corporate messages. (Try "assertive" instead of aggressive.)

I can't tell you exactly why I keep on keepin' on. One of the reasons is the post run benefits. After an ice bath, stretching and a power plate of pasta, I sit and wait for the wonderful calming endorphins to kick in where I enter into the world of Bliss. These free wheeling, natural chemicals make me feel like I'm floating on a Whitman "greenshine" pool in a rubber raft without a care in the world. And I guess, this is why I do it six days per week. Do I have courage or is it to keep the scary mooglies at bay? I don't know. I do know that there is something that keeps us humans moving forward, striving and driving and whether it's self-preservation or fear of the "alternative" I'm going to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

The Long And the Short of It

I am never ceased to be amazed over the parallel of life and running. There are good days and bad days in both. A happy, successful life takes a certain amount of skills and with practice it gets easier, better and more fun. The same goes for running.

When planing goals, there is the over all goal, "I am going to run the New York City Marathon and I am going to run it in 4 hours." In order to get to the long-term goal we need to set short term and mid-term goals all of which have tasks attached to them. And the goal of any task? That's right, to complete them. Along the route to accomplishing your long-term goal you'll reassess your short term goals and tasks. When you meet the goals that you have set for yourself a sense of accomplishment, confidence and pride will begin to fill you. And those feelings will beget more success. I never thought that I'd be able to reduce my marathon time by twenty-five minutes within eight months but with hard work, I did.

Yesterday, in the park with video camera in hand I captured the runner in the above video. I noticed his easy gait and powerful stride and thought, "What a good analogy for life": easy does it but do it.

After revealing myself to "Ben" he told me that he was training for the Chicago marathon and that he was in the "cool down" stage of his day's run. (Warm-up, cool-down. The same goes for life's activities.) We shared some thoughts on running and then parted ways. With "Ben's" approval I put a little humor into the above video. Enjoy.

To Do or Not to Do?

"If you really wanted it badly enough you'd do something about it!" Many people have said this to me and others countless times in the past and some of this statement holds truth however, some of us just can't seem to do anything "about it" no matter how badly we want it. What’s the matter, fear of success, fear of failure? Does it really matter? Well, it doesn’t matter any longer to me because I’ve been around long enough to know that ‘it’ won’t happen unless I take action. Even if that action is just one small step. If you’ve just had a twinge of anxiety after reading the last sentence than this is about you. Has this ever happen to you: driving down the road at a snails pace or standing online at the motor vehicle department a great idea hits you between the eyes. Your follow-up thoughts to this great idea of yours may have been, wow, I can’t wait to get started! Or, that’ll never work. Besides, someone else has probably already thought of it. Okay, you know the drill; you believe you are what you tell yourself you. You also know that there are countless examples of people, other people who actually took action on their ideas and made their dreams come true. We’ve all read about ‘them’ and yet, it hasn’t propelled you to take action. Can you relate?

All those ‘other people’ out there are just that, people. They are no different from you and me. The only difference is that they took their ideas and took action. Maybe, their first step was to take an hour to investigate if their idea is doable or, they ran the idea past a supportive friend or colleague to get their take. Here’s the secret you’ve been waiting to read: the idea, the dream, the new life won’t happen unless you take action. Impressed? I thought you would be. You’re probably thinking, this guy’s a genius. I know I need to take action but I just can’t seem to get started. Here’s secret number two. Are you ready? Hold onto your seat because it’s so simple a concept that you’ll probably smack yourself in the head after reading: it’s okay if you do nothing. Really. It’s absolutely fine to do nothing at all but daydream. You’ll still be loved by your friends and family but and this is a big BUT will it be okay with you? Will living with the thought If, I had gone through with that idea I had I could be living the life I always wanted, be all right with you? If you answered yes then that’s fine. You’re the only one who can make that call. However, if you continue to do nothing and have an ongoing and accompanying mental thorn in the back of your head that talks to you on a daily basis and says, something’s not right, please change it! Then it’s time to take action. Then ask yourself, what tiny, teeny action can I take today? And on a daily basis ask yourself, are my actions bringing me closer to achieving my goals or further away? It’s truly that simple. The work of getting what you want is just that, work. Even those “other people” whose vocations are their avocations still have to do things that are not their favorite tasks. Start somewhere. Start today, right now. Ask for help. Have an idea party. Stop daydreaming and start day-doing.

Feel free to contact me with questions which, is an action that will bring you one step closer to getting what you want.

Pain and Perseverance

Date: 10 February 2008
Event: NYRR Bronx Half-Marathon, 13.1 miles/21.08 kilometers
Weather: 18F/-7.8C; Winds: 25-28mph; Skies: Overcast

By far this was the smartest race I have run to date. Just two weeks prior I ran the NYRR Manhattan Half-Marathon with the goal being a two hour or less finish time. I was warned that this was a lofty goal as my previous half marathon time was 2:29:49. I was determined and trained hard. I started out too fast - I always do. There were a lot of runners that day and Central Parks' roads were halved to accommodate runners, cyclists and walkers. I hate being crowded when I run especially by some big oaf who thinks he's an elite athlete. Every time an over competitive runner got too close I would sprint ahead depleting necessary energy that would be needed around miles eight or nine.

At mile nine the lactic acid started shooting pain in my thighs. I was still on schedule to reach my two hour goal but there was a major hill coming up at mile eleven. By mile ten my quads were killing me. Because it was very cold and wet I didn't hydrate or eat enough. Another painful lesson: eat and drink on a schedule.

At the base of the hill I told myself that it was now or never and to,"attack this hill." I always like to find one runner who runs slightly faster than myself and use him or her as my pacer for the last couple of miles. My intention is to overtake the 'pacer' right at the finish line. By the time I crested the hill I thought that my lungs were going to pop out of my chest, as I was pushing my maximum heart rate at 180 beats per minute.

I know that my mind will always give up long before my body and I did a lot of praying to Hermes, "Please give me strength!" When the twelve mile marker came into view, the thought of running on legs of lead for another 1.1 miles seemed impossible but I wanted to reach that goal. I knew that I would pay for running this fast, (8:52 pace per mile is fast for me) at the end of the race especially, with another half-marathon coming up in two weeks.

Turning the corner towards the finish line I felt like I was going to collapse until I saw my wife cheering me on. I crossed the finish line in 1:56:22. Wow! That's 33 minutes faster than my last Half. In the sport of running, an improvement of a few seconds is fantastic so, I was really impressed with the ability that the human body can get stronger and faster in a short period of time.

I did beat my 'pace' runner and was very happy with the results of all my hard work and training. Yes, I paid for not pacing myself from the start. I could hardly walk down stairs for two days after the race. I vowed to use the Bronx race as a training run, pace myself from the start and use a schedule for hydrating and eating. It worked. I experienced no leg pain and only a slight amount of stomach discomfort. Four miles into the race I became competitive with myself and turned up the speed. I finished in 2:03:22. Not bad given that the head winds were so strong on the hilliest part of the course hampering everyone's finishing times.

There are five NYRR Half-Marathons that take place in each New York City Borough over the course of 2008. I plan on running all five just for the experience. Besides, they give away great shirts. The NYC Half-Marathon is 27 July and I'll let you know what my new goal will be after I do some more training.

Lessons learned: Set the goal, train hard, don't listen to negative thoughts, ask for help, and most importantly, increase and improve in small increments.