Approach It Differently
“If you have never run 100 miles in a week, what makes you think you can do it 1 day?”
I knew one day someone was going to ask me this question. It’s a valid question, no doubt about it. What baffles people is my answer to them: I just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Here’s the thing … I don’t have a lot of time to train physically, but there are plenty of mental training opportunities. When it comes to running, I have found that it is 90% mental. If you tell yourself you can’t do it, then odds are that you will be right. Preparing your mind and attitude for a race, or life, is more important then the physical aspect.
For instance, I spend the day in a fairly quiet office swapping jokes, being solutions focused, and being in control. It’s fairly low-key and When I arrive home and walk in the door, the volume dial goes from 2 to 16 all at once:
8yo: Daddy! I got an award at school today and played a new game called 51.
6yo: 8yo hit me and won’t let me play with him.
4yo: Nobody will play with me and I’m really sad because I wanted to play with the doll but they took it from me and now won’t give it back which makes me angry and I just want to go outside so I can watch tv and then eat some yogurt because I like adding Juice Plus to it. (she likes to get it all out at once)
2yo: AAAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!!
For me it’s a bit of a sensory overload having the floodgates pour open all at once. I love my kids, but I also know my triggers. Instead of letting the situation lead me out the closest window, I have found a way to control my interpretation of the sounds. Call it self meditation, counting to 10 (200 times), or being Zen. No matter the name, I am now able to filter and reduce the unknown into a medium that I can benefit from. I visualize the noise on a soundtrack, separate each into their own line, and grab the pieces I want to focus on. It has allowed me to recognize new solutions and efficiencies in what I want to accomplish.
Much of this applies to the world outside of running. I drive almost 2 hours a day in traffic. One day I started doing the math … that’s 20 hours a week, 80 hours a month, or 960 hours a year. That’s just commuting time.
So in 1 month I could replace that time by watching all 8 Harry Potter movies and all 6 Stars Wars movies 3 times!
I could dread the time in the car or turn it into an opportunity. There are some days I make it a game to see how many cars I can pass, determine which lane is faster, or spot the most irritated driver on the road. Then I also can listen to talk radio and learn something, explore new music (I randomly spin the dial and listen to the song it lands on), or look for landmarks/buildings I have never noticed before.
Just because you were always told things had to be done the same way doesn’t mean it is the best way. Step back and look at the situation with fresh ideas. If someone was to tell you the one way that would never work, start there. It may be the best way to do it, but everyone just believes it’s too hard.
Make life interesting and approach it differently.
