Born To Run: Lessons from the Road

I started running when I was 4 years old. Running is big part of who I am and has influenced me in many ways and it continues to do so.

 
People will ask, “Why do you do that? That looks like no fun.” While others understand the pull of that early morning run that drags you out of bed and onto the open road, or trail.

 
Here is the little known fact that some people do not realize. We are all runners. We just take different paths, at different paces, and we are running different races. These are a few things, that have been shared with me, and that I picked up on the run, that apply to everything.

It Always Helps To Focus on The Road

You have to run you your race. It is important to keep focused ahead. Someone else’s does not control your outcome in the race, only you do.

Pace

It doesn’t matter how long the race is you have to have some sense of pacing yourself. Knowing the time, this becomes second nature after a while even without a watch. With practice you get to know yourself, know the pace that you want to set for the goal you are trying to achieve.

Planning

Planning is related to pace, as you have to go into a race or a run with a game plan. If you just approach it like, I hope I am going to survive this thing, when you are faced with an obstacle, it may just really just set you back without a plan to address it.

Running Uphill

There sure are a lots of hills in Colorado. When faced with a hill, there is a challenge for you to lean into and run through the hill. Tendency is face the challenge head on and power through it, when you crest the top you keep going. Of course when you go up hill, there is often a downhill.

Running Downhill

You can get going fast, If you get going fast, you might tumble if you don’t have your footing. Especially, if you are running down a sand hill. So while things may seem easy, don’t let them get away from you, but maintain control and awareness. Stick with the plan.

Failure

It is not a matter of when you fail, or fall. It really is a matter of how you respond and pick yourself up after the fall. I have fallen in races, I have gotten up and signed up for another race. I had to bail on that second marathon, my next step was to re-assess how did I get here and how do I avoid getting here again, and then sign up for the next race.

 
Weather

Be prepared, look at the forecast. Snow, Rain, Sun, doesn’t matter as long as you are
prepared to deal with it.

Pass the Baton

Some races you cannot run alone. You have to hand things off to a team member. When doing a relay you have to know your teammates, know the strengths of who starts strong, who can close the gap if there is one, and who can maintain the lead. Knowing your teams strengths put you in a position to win.

Help Others Succeed

My good friend did an an obstacle race with me, when I talked to him about it the first thing he remembered was when he got stuck in a tube he was being yelled at by a woman that sounded like a drill sergeant and needed a hand getting out. I stopped and turned around to pull him out of the tube and we went on to finish the race.

What is Next?

To me it is not just what you did in the past, the run is about the preparation for the next event, the next day, it is looking ahead.