Performance and Transformation

"How do do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." General Creighton Abrams Eating Elephant Feet - The Hardest Part of Endurance Training          At the beginning of starting anything new there is excitement and energy. The same is of a race, or a marathon training cycle, there is plenty of adrenaline and energy. This is a second blog post showing how the training for a long distance event, and then actually doing the event are incredibly similar. While the first introduced how the first few miles can set you up for a great race, or how they can blow-up the day, this is about the Muddy Middle. It is a space when the new thing gets old, when a marathon turns into a test of will, and this is true of the training cycle as well.   Enthusiasm has started to run dry, and we may even begin to second-guess ourselves. This usually happens from about weeks 4-12 and then miles 4-20 of the race, motivation means nothing and yet it can mean everythi...

         Mental fatigue is a real thing. Our brains and emotions can get tired, often before our bodies give up. We will doubt our capabilities, question our preparation, curse the weather, and of course motivation will waiver. Eventually, we will think about quitting, and this all happens before we even run our goal race! Here are a few thoughts on how you can become a champ at mentally preparing yourself for a race that tests us like no other.        The old  Vietnam War General, Creighton Abrams is said to have told his men, "If you want to eat an elephant, take one bite at a time."   This is the first of 3-4 blog posts on breaking the marathon training cycle down into smaller digestible  chunks, as well as the marathon race. (The half-marathon is a relatively similar preparation and distance, so I'm sure halfers will find this equally applicable.) I have begun to see again and again that what we experience dur...

We unintentionally believe a lot of lies about our bodies. The lies fall to both extremes: on the one hand, that the human body is an object of worship, and on the other, that it’s a pointless vessel. As a young athlete from the age of 10 through my college years, I heard the former lie as gospel truth. Then I began to hear new lies (more toward the latter) in Christian circles. Today, as a competitive marathon runner, and a coach to triathletes and marathoners in their 30s to 50s, I see that the lies never really go away. To remember the truth about our bodies, it is worth our time to go to the One who thought of physical bodies, and then made them. Lie: Only the Soul Matters In a culture obsessed with image, we should be surprised at how often we are told that our bodies don’t matter. Even a casual viewing of Netflix will reveal story after story where the mind and soul transcend the body. Take one of my son’s favorite movies,  Big Hero 6,  which is a car...

            It get's really easy to forget why running is fun.  Perhaps you've never gotten to the place where it is fun, and I don't think that can happen on purpose. It just occurs, and just as slowly it occurs that running is no longer enjoyable and is just about goals.  Doing the run is no longer the goal, it is no longer an end in itself. When we first start, that's all it is, to be able to complete a 3 mile run is the accomplishment and that's when running is fun. Then after a while it becomes a means to a different end, and that is when the run is no longer fun.         That's how a lot of things are.  At first I read my Bible and that is the accomplishment, then after a while I do it because I need something from it - character change, comfort, solace.  Then when it doesn't happen, reading my Bible is no longer enjoyable, but I keep doing it because I know I need to. Or some of us just stop.   ...

Did you have a good run? I get that question a lot, whether it is after a race or just a Sunday morning longrun.  I can tell what my answer will be before the run is even over based on how I did at the 2/3 mark. It doesn't matter how long the run is - doing a 5K race, how was I doing at mile 2?  A marathon, how was I doing at miles 18-20?  Those are points in any run where I am far enough from the beginning that the euphoria of a beautiful day and a great run have worn off and I'm essentially tired. Then it is also far enough from the finish that it's easy to mentally wander, get overwhelmed with how far I have to go, and just slip into a gentle effort.  Mentally, it's the muddy middle. A great run isn't made at the beginning, though at the start I can certainly make mistakes that hinder a good run from happening. Nor is a great run made at the finish.  Who blows off 2.75 miles and sprints the last 200 yards and somehow feels like a champ? A grea...

Breaks from running are great. While I've been using this break (January) to plan out my next season of training and a new marathon goal, I'm finding the same old temptations keep rearing up - to plan too many miles with too many of them being too fast. When I've tried doing more than I can handle, it's usually after reading an article on how some elite athlete, who works part-time, is half my age, and cranks out 100+ mile weeks. After reading said article, I try too amp up the miles in March and April, but by June I'm comparing myself too the other end of the spectrum, a novice friend who is just starting. Then I just fall into the routine of four 4-milers a week, until my next big race is a month away at which point I get it into gear again. Neither end is good. Consistency is needed. To develop consistency, for the last year or so, I've been kicking these four principles around in my head and am taking them out for a test drive as I build a Plan fo...

If running isn't holy, maybe I'm not doing it right. It's got to feel special or unique. By definition, holy is to be set apart . God used the word "holy" to describe the first day of rest, and then later His people. For my running to be holy means it is set apart....it becomes more and more void of false motives or angst. In the positive sense it means freedom, ease, and enjoyment. I do it for me, and because I'm created to do it. When running isn't set apart, there is an intrinsic danger in doing it for the wrong reasons. Studies show that people who start running just to lose weight are less likely to continue running than those who run for sheer joy. Why run then? Because we are human, and we have been created to run. If we weren't, then our great-great-great ancestors never would have been able to outrun their neighbor for dinner, or run and catch dinner. More than that, God made us as physical beings. Therefore, I would co...