Tag: system

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH!

The importance of training!

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

“Motivation remains key to the marathon: the motivation to begin; the motivation to continue; the motivation never to quit.” — Hal Higdon

According to legend, Pheidippides was a Greek messenger who ran 25 miles from Marathon to Athens to deliver news of the victory in the battle against Persia in 490 B.C. He said to the king of Athens, “Joy to you, we’ve won” and then he immediately died on the spot. This is depicted in the famous painting Pheidippides by Luc-Olivier Merson, 1869.  

Phidippides

Twenty weeks from today, on November 22, 2020 I will be running my first marathon.  The modern marathon was named after the famous run by Pheidippides, but it is by no means a death-sentence.  According to a medical review conducted in 2016 the risk of death during or shortly after running a marathon is between  .6 and  1.9 deaths per  100,000 participants.  According to cardiologist Dr Lim Bee Chian  marathon runners often collapse near the finishing line because the build-up of lactic acid in the blood during the run triggers abnormal heart rhythms. In addition, they also suffer from exhaustion, emotional stress, dehydration and heat stroke.

On average, approximately 40% of participants in a marathon are first timers like myself. In many cases the marathon is their first official road race, which is a terrible idea. There is a very old saying that goes ‘You need to learn to walk before you try to run’. On New Year’s Eve 2018, after being inspired by long distance runner Nathan Maxwell, I began training to become a runner. I was not training to run a marathon first, I was training to run a 5K race that was months away. On Sunday April 28th, 2019 I ran my first ever 5K. A few months later I ran my first ever 15K, and a few months after that on September 7th 2019 I ran my first half-marathon. The following month I did it again and ran my second half-marathon.  The important takeaway point I am trying to make is that the training was essential. It was consistent and methodical.  In 2019 I ran a total of 11 officially timed races, this year I had planned to run double that number.  

Long races which are officially timed have support stations along the race course for runners to grab water, Gatorade, or little packets of glucose gel to enable you to keep going. Shorter races such as 5Ks often provide water and snacks at the end. The average time for a 5K race is 30-40 minutes.  10K runs average 50-70 minutes. Good times for half-marathons and marathons are 2hrs and 4hrs respectively, and involve maintaining a 9min per mile pace. I cannot run that fast yet, but I am getting better. Longer faces have cutoff times. Typically 4 hours for a half-marathon and 7 hours for a full marathon. So basically if you can run at a consistent pace of 15min per mile, you can still finish the race before the cutoff time, but you have very little wiggle-room.  I average about a 13min mile, and I am still considered a new runner. I only ran my first official race 14 months ago, so I am just two months into my second year of running, but I am definitely faster than I was a year ago.

Then mid March, the coronavirus shut down all the gyms and cancelled almost every race I had lined up for this year as part of my training regiment.  This in and of itself could have thrown off my entire marathon training plan. Fortunately  Gina,  a member  of a run-club I belong to shared a virtual run series that spanned 12 weeks. Last  Sunday was the final race. During the series I ran 37 races, all timed with my professional runner’s watch, a Garmin Forerunner 945. If you add the 4 races I got in before the virus that shut down the world struck,  I have run 41 races so far this year and am at nearly 4 times as many races as I ran in 2019, so I know what I am doing. A runner runs, and I am a trained professional now. I created an info-graphic depicting the 37 races I ran for The Un-Cancelled Project over the 12 week series.

UNCANCELLED2416222020

If there is one thing I have learned in my 14 months as a runner, it’s not the distance that kills you, it’s both the pace, and dehydration.  Since most races currently are virtual, there are no water stations so I need to self-support. As a Clydesdale (a heavy-weight runner) I require more water than the average racer, especially during these hot summer months. Dehydration is a killer. (So is carrying all those sport bottles of frozen endurance fuel!)  As I start gradually increasing my distances according to my running plan,  the water needed may become a problem.  So far I have run 4 virtual half-marathons in the past two months alone.  I underestimated my water needs for the 1st one May 2nd. So I ran out after 11 miles with 2.1 miles remaining and the hot sun beating down on me.   Fortunately Steve, another member of my run-club was able to bike out to me with a water bottle. This is why I carry my phone while running.  This is also why it is important to run with a group, but as our schedules don’t always mesh, lately I have been doing a lot of solo runs.  Over the next  5 months I will be running 4-5 times a week and following a custom training plan which I derived from several popular marathon training plans including the Hal Higdon plan. Always remember you plan to fail, if you fail to plan! As always I wish you success and happiness!  

NOW WHAT?

Avoiding the stumbling blocks!

what now

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

The road to success is paved with hard work. There are no short cuts, and every journey is an individual one. Two of the most destructive stumbling blocks you will encounter are:

  1. self-doubt
  2. unsolicited advice

If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. – 1 John 3:20

Self doubt is often created by the internal worry that we somehow do not measure up to the task, whatever it may be. In his famous book The Power of Positive Thinking Norman Vincent Peale gives us the secret to happiness: “The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others. Try this for a week and you will be surprised.”  Self doubt tells us that we can’t succeed, we’ll never win, and that happiness in the form of success will be forever denied us because we are not good enough. The key to remember is that if we were born with a healthy ‘normal’ body, we have the same opportunities in life as any other individual with a similar origin. Sometimes we’ll have people along the road of life to encourage and help us , and sometimes the journey will be a hard and lonely one. The strongest people in life have managed to cast away self doubt and pave their own paths. There is great power in succeeding at a challenge we have set for ourselves. The reward is knowing that we accomplished what the naysayers  told us we could not do. God never gives us anything that we cannot overcome.

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The Narrow Gate

In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets. Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.… –Matthew 7:12-14

“if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” – Burt Lance

Always consider the source when receiving unsolicited advice. Someone telling you not to fix something that works will hold you back from finding a better way to do it. Likewise, if you are doing something that  is working for you, but which is not the way that someone else is doing it, remember that everyone is different. What works for you MIGHT not work for them, and vice versa. As long as you are not doing something illegal or immoral, if it works, keep doing it.  Just because ‘everyone else is doing it’ doesn’t mean you should do it too just to appease them. The only person you are competing with is yourself.   You just need to check yourself to see if you are improving. This is easily accomplished by keeping careful records of your progress. For example, I myself have been struggling with my weight for years, and it took a lot of trial and error before I chanced upon a diet and exercise program that worked for me.  I have carefully monitored and recorded my weight for years. It wasn’t until about three years ago that I discovered a few dietary supplements, meal plans and exercise programs that broke the chains that had been holding me back.  Nine months ago I began competitive running, and now I monitor my progress with that, so I see the results. More importantly,  OTHER people have taken notice of the external changes to my physique, and they have been inspired by it. Actions speak louder than words, and results are hard to argue with. The proof is in the pudding.  If it works, KEEP doing it, never quit, never surrender!

The most important thing you can do in life is to lead by example. You are being watched all the time by everyone in your life, whether or not you are aware of it. It is better to be held up in high esteem as an example of what is possible, as opposed to being a cautionary tale of what NOT to do in life. There are too many fools who took the short-cut down ‘Easy Street’ which lead to destruction. If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, live your life the right way, and remember that life is YOUR life, and you are the one who need to live it. As always, I wish you success and happiness!

PRESSED FOR TIME?

Simple tips for avoiding the mad morning dash!

pressed for time

We’ve all been there at one point or another.  Stayed up way too late,  hit the snooze button one time too many, and now you have seconds to dash out the door or risk being late for work. Inevitably something goes wrong at the worst possible time and we forget some vital item. It happens, BUT it can be avoided with a few simple tricks and a bit of determination on your part. The keys involve proper time management and developing a system that works for you.

All successful people have mastered time management and develop a system of doing things in a routine fashion which becomes second nature, occurring automatically. Time IS money, and wasting time is wasting potential. If your daily norm is a disorganized mess, you get far fewer things accomplished, face undue stress, and possibly depression. Stress and depression negatively affect your health. When your health is affected, again, your potential is diminished and you begin a vicious downward spiral. Your HEALTH IS YOUR WEALTH!  All three, TIME, MONEY, and HEALTH are interconnected and when mastered form a trifecta of success.

The way you start your day will impact how your day progresses. Why not start the day right? There’s an old adage, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. ”  Truer words were never said. Morning prep should begin in night before.

Keep the same sleep schedule. For some people this may be tricky, esp. if you work a job with irregular hours such as a swing shift position, or one which has you on call for emergencies when off duty. In such situations, keeping a set sleep schedule may prove difficult or impossible. You’ll just have to do the best you can.  For some people  though, watching the BIG GAME, or some movie, is all important. This is nonsense. Television programs are a choice you make, and a time-wasting activity. When your team scores the winning point, it has ZERO impact on your life. Oh, you may cheer and get a momentary rush of excitement, and you may enjoy the leisure activity of sitting on the couch and munching snacks. But how does this add to your success? Anything that does not contribute to your success hinders it in some fashion. This doesn’t mean you can’t  stay up late occasionally, just don’t make a habit of it. Bad habits form easily. All things in moderation.     

Form a system. Set out all the things you need the night before in a set area. My father used to drape his clothes for the next day on a chair in his bedroom. I’ve adopted a similar technique. Also, keep keys, wallet, cell phone and other things you normally carry when leaving the house in a set location. When you get home, immediately put these items in that place until needed the next morning. Cell phones may be the sticking point for some people who can’t bear to be separated from their phone until the battery runs down and they have to place it on the charger. This can be remedied by placing a NOTE TO SELF reminding you to grab your phone before leaving the house with your keys, or taped to the door. After all it would be tragic if you left the house and left your cell phone there.  Also if you have pets or small children, make sure that this place where you keep your needed items is well out of reach. If Fido decides that the leather loop on your keys would make an excellent chew toy, you don’t want to tear-up the house looking everywhere for your car keys. If you have a spouse the likes to put things ‘out of the way’ , make sure they know this is your PERSONAL SPACE and off limits. And if they have their PERSONAL SPACE where they keep their stuff, return the courtesy.

dunkin

Make meals ahead.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. One of the worst things you can do health and wealth-wise is  to grab fast food for breakfast and or lunch because you didn’t have time in the morning.  You can prep your meals ahead of time and save money as well as eating healthier at the same time. In my case, I’ve also simplified my meals because I’ve taking up running and as an athlete in training for competition, I have certain nutritional  requirements that need to be met in order to build lean muscle while decreasing body fat.  Some people LIVE FOR FOOD. The mindset of the athlete is that FOOD IS FUEL.  Again, what we eat is a personal choice. Some people MUST HAVE variety, some people MUST HAVE what works. YOU have to find what works for YOU. Whatever it is that you chose to eat, as long as it is nutritious and doesn’t make you fat, go for it!

Cape Diem! When that morning wake-up call goes off answer it! Don’t hit the snooze button!  Every time you do, you waste valuable time getting ready for work. You know exactly how much time you need for your daily morning routine. You know the average commute-time, a how long it takes you to eat breakfast,  pray, exercise, shower and dress. Every time you hit that button, you lose time.  Do not cut your time in any way, and ideally you should set your alarm as a reminder to leave by a certain time having already been awake and completed your  morning ablutions. Most people use their cell phone as their clock, and you can  set multiple reminder alarms for various activities throughout the day. It’s easy to get sidetracked, but always remember, if you snooze, you lose!   As always, I wish you success and happiness!