Blog

I’m still figuring out exactly how my blog is going to take shape. Granted, I participate in a bunch of social venues (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, my company blog, etc.) but I wanted to somehow integrate my personal and professional lives together and write about it. However, right now my fixation has been my running. So while I can, and will, blog about tech, social media and society in general this post is primarily about running.

I’ve been watching, and enjoying – not appropriate at all but I do like how the show makes me feel – a show on the Discovey Channel called “Surviving the Cut“. It takes viewers into the intense world of military elite forces training. I have a great appreciation and a personal back-story about why I like it so much (for a later post) but suffice it to say I get it at an intellectual level. I won’t say that I totally get it, because I don’t – because I never did it – but because part of what I wanted, more than anything (and still do), is the experience of a life or death experience that pushes you mentally and physically to my max, it’s one of my favorite shows on TV.

Anyway, what I really caught during the most recent episode was that there were a few things that I was missing out of during my own training. It started me reflecting about how I could use a passive activity, like watching a TV program, to help me train better. Here’s what I came up with:

Train with a true purpose

What you think is ready, and what is really ready for a given situation, is always tremendously different from reality. If you are going to train you need a real reason. If it’s for fun, train for that, but cut yourself a break, you don’t have much on the line other than personal pride. If it’s a race, train for that. It’s a whole different scenario depending on what you want to accomplish. If you’re like me, I have tough, and often unrealistic, goals. But regardless, having something to work toward, a purpose, is really important and what will keep you moving in the right direction no matter how you feel.

We (You and I) are More Capable than what We Think

Sure we all have our limitations, but just how many of them are really in our mind? I can’t comment clinically on psychology, but if you’re like me you can do a lot more than you think you can. The problem is we don’t think we can. If we can think past that little voice in our heads telling us what we can, and cannot, do we can go a lot farther than we ever dreamed possible. There is a balance, of course, between doing something and doing something safely, but it’s further apart than we think it is. Just know what you want, dig deep and get the job done! Most of the time, you – and I – will be thrilled with what we’ve been able to accomplish. Just give yourself the permission to do so.

Rushing Can Often Do More Damage Than Good

In what I’ve seen, know and have read about military training and operations, the single most deadly aspect of a plan is the failure to have one. Regardless of what you are trying to accomplish, having a plan to get you from where you are to where you want to be is the difference between life and death. However, even if your plan is less-then well thought-out, it’s always better than no plan at all. You’ll probably prevail when presented with adversity. Likewise, if you have no plan you’ll probably fail. Remember, fail to plan, plan to fail.

In a race this means, if all else fails reassess your strategy, take your time, and you’ll probably do just fine. Don’t fixate on time, work toward finishing.

Never Leave a Man Behind

Again, I can’t identify with this personally, but I love the concept. Never, ever, leave someone behind if you can help them get home. In the military this directly relates to the field of battle, but if we were to extrapolate to the race course I think we could find a few similarities. Number one of my mind are the folks at the back of the pack. If you’re at, or near the front, of the pack take a second to cheer on those behind you, especially if your race is an out and back. Even better, if you’ve finished well in front of those behind you and know you have “gas in the tank” loop back and support the runners that are lagging behind. It doesn’t cost you much in terms of energy and it helps someone else accomplish their goal. Win-Win in my mind. Regardless, just think about the others out there with you. It may change your perspective, even a bit, of the race. After all, we’re in it for the same reason.

Granted, I run because I love how I feel after I do. I also love having a goal and working toward it, but I don’t, nor do any of you, have the pressure of special ops training in the military (and if you do I apologize, but I hope you get my point). Could you our I pass Special Ops training? I don’t know. I’d like to think that my running has helped me greatly with it, but I don’t know how I’d react to the physical and mental pressure of that kind of training. Regardless, whether I passed or failed, I’d like to believe that my running – especially at distance – would give me the endurance and mental ability to do it, but you really never know. More importantly, I’d like to hope that I’d never forget the bigger picture and why I, and others are doing it.

True survival and success in military ops is so much different than running for fun. We should be truly appreciative (which I am) of our US Military and what they go through to keep us safe. Most of us think we have what it takes…I think the reality is that few, if any, really do.

For me it’s just another reason to run…and run far and run well.