A few weeks ago, an “Elite only” version of the London Marathon was held. On a typical British day, some of the best runners in the world battled the cold, the wind, the rain, and each other to see who would be crowned champion. Kenyan superstar Eluid Kipchoge was the heavy favorite. The Olympic champion, world record holder, and the only human to ever run 26.2 miles in under 2 hours, had not been beaten at the marathon in 7 years.
He placed 8th. I recently read a scripture that said, “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass”. Essentially the verse states that big changes are made by doing the little things consistently over time. A profound example of this principle is the Grand Canyon- carved ever so slowly over millions of years by a simple trickle of water.
Like many of you, there is a lot I’ve learned over the last 2.5 months hunkered down with my wife, our dog Bella, and our little guy Evan in a 1,000 sq ft apartment. Certainly I’ve learned a lot about myself, and my family, but I’ve also learned from you. All of us have gone through unique experiences during this time of quarantine - and many of us have gone through very similar ones. Hopefully we can come out on the other side of this with some lessons learned that will serve us in times of peace as well as times of crisis.
While the pandemic casts a dark cloud over our lives currently, hopefully we see the silver lining of perspective - of lessons learned from this pandemic and lockdown. Here are 6: With the COVID-19 pandemic, many aspects of daily life have taken a backseat. And rightfully so. The fitness world has seen its share of turmoil as the Olympic games, the Boston Marathon, all NCAA championships, and all professional sports leagues have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely. Many personal fitness goals have been compromised as races and events world-wide have been cancelled, gyms and pools have been shut down, and most places are enacting ‘shelter in place’ protocols.
This weekend is the highly anticipated USA Olympic Trials for the Marathon in Atlanta, GA. I’ve been counting down this date for several months, so excited to see which three women and three men get to wear the red, white, and blue for Team USA in Tokyo later this year. It will be an incredible display of talent, grit, and determination for everyone to see. Some of these athletes are full-time professional runners, but most wear many hats in addition to being elite runners. With over 700 in the field, their backgrounds and stories vary wildly.
However, each of those runners have a few things in common- and those are things as amateur athletes we can all take note of. In fact, the best athletes across ALL disciplines share several keys we can utilize to help us become better or faster or stronger: HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope 2019 was as good to you as it was to me. And I also hope you’re looking forward to an even better 2020. It’s not just the start of a new year, but an entire new DECADE! What a great time to evaluate our lives and examine the challenges, opportunities and blessings we’ve been granted over the past 10 years, and think about where we want to be in the next 10.
During this Thanksgiving season, it’s customary to reflect on the things for which we are most grateful. For many of us, this takes place around a dinner table overflowing with decadent food, surrounded by family and friends. As we reflect on our blessings, family, friends, and our economic well-being rank high on the list. Also included our professional achievements, educational accolades, and of course athletic accomplishments.
However, in reflecting on the bigger picture of life, there are blessings we sometimes fail to include on our list. Here are a few lesser-included reasons to be grateful that sometimes don’t make the cut: The Marine Corps Marathon happened here two weeks ago, and it was anything but optimum conditions. With rain, 98% humidity, and soaring temps, it felt more like racing in Florida than in Northern Virginia. Ironically, the unofficial Marine Corps motto is “Improvise, adapt, overcome”, and that is exactly what tens of thousands of runners had to do in order to complete this most challenging of races.
“Improvise, Adapt, Overcome” is a great mantra for not only the Marines, or for running the MCM, but for ALL exercise endeavors. Triathlon by its very nature is a lonely, solitary sport. However, during race weekends triathletes come together with spectators, friends, and volunteers and it seems the entire world revolves around swimming, biking, and running. This was the case this past weekend at Ironman Maryland. It was wonderful to see all the athletes, volunteers, and spectators supporting each other in lofty, ambitious, superhuman goals.
As I reflected on all the people that contributed to me being there on race day, I considered the team each athlete has around them which brings them success. There are spouses and families, physical therapists and chiropractors, and of course training partners. And while I as a coach caution about training exclusively in groups, there are some significant advantages to working out with others. Over the past several weeks, the heat index in the DC area has topped 105 numerous times. Two weeks ago, I found myself on training ride where I had to simply pull over and find the nearest 7-Eleven and down a Slurpee and a bottle of Gatorade as possible to keep my core temperature in check. Prior to that day, I can’t remember the last time I had a slurpee…
|