Running - It's Better Than Homework!

You know, sometimes this blog just writes itself...

For the kids

Especially when someone else writes it for you!  What follows is Major Mojo's take on what distance running has meant in his life.  I can sum it up for me in three words:  patience, perseverance, and discipline.  His take is much more thoughtful, eloquent, and artfully done.  All the words and pictures, including the title of the post, are his.  Only that pic to the right is my goofball take on what is otherwise a very introspective writing.  Please pay attention, kids, you might learn something... Let's set the mood first.  (No joke, this is truly well written, I'm not just saying that.  Clicking that link and letting it run while reading makes it even better).

Running…it’s better than Homework!

This is just a short jog through why I have stayed such an avid distance runner and the impact it has had on my life.

When I look back on the ‘running’ timeline of my life there are very few constants.  Hobbies come and go based on where I live; sometimes it was fishing and sometimes it was skiing.  I use to play basketball every day; I haven’t taken a shot in years despite the fact my rental house has a hoop.  I used to throw the baseball up in the air in my back yard to practice fly balls; I don’t know where my glove even is right now. My core friends have stayed pretty constant, but life got busy with kids and I was not able to keep up as well as I wanted.  Proximity has always been an issue being in the military and gone from Michigan since 1997.  The one thing that I started that I never stopped was running; it has been a focal point of my goal setting, mental and physical health, and friendship.

I first started running as an alternative to boredom.  I got cut from the freshman soccer team and my brother was my ride home so I sat in the cafeteria doing homework until he finished running.  After some time, the coach noticed and made a pretty obvious statement, “Why don’t you come run, it’s better than doing homework.”

Following that flawless logic I joined the cross-country team.  What that has given me would take a weekend to explain.  From running with my brother, to earning a Varsity letter, to helping me decompress, and not to mention, stay healthy. 

Maybe homework isn't so bad

Running takes many shapes. Often it is perceived as this, ‘left foot right foot heavy breathing when is this over so I can feel good for a little while and feel like crap the next morning exercise’.  Running has to be like anything else you want to maximize the gain from. You have to run with INTENT.  It is more than exercise - it is a journey that requires a cycle of preparation, execution, reflection, and conceptualization.  I have come full circle on why I started and laughed at it….’better than homework’.  Well, it may be better than schoolwork, but running is my metaphor for life and in either one you better do your homework (schoolwork is optional). 

It was not too long ago that I got back into distance running.  I look at the picture of me finishing Chicago Marathon in 2006 and I hardly look like I know what I am doing despite have a respectable time of 3:16:54.  I have a long sleeve cotton shirt over a short sleeve cotton shirt with my huge Ipod on my arm in a massive armband and a big ball cap on my head (This is only slightly better than my 1999 Detroit marathon where I carried a Sony Walkman the whole race only to run out of AA battery life at mile 23). 

Then I ran with more intent. 

In those races, I ran for time not self-improvement.  I cared about the question, “What was your time?” that came from others rather than the question “Did you do your best?” that came from within.

“If you race merely for the tributes from others; you will be at the mercy of their expectations”

-Scott Tinley 3x Kona IRONMAN Champ

I began to worry about pre and post-race activities.  If I get up with no time to stretch, no time for a glass of water or a banana, then my preparation has set the bar below the maximization point and put me at risk for injury.  If I finish my run and immediately jump in the shower and head of to work without stretching, I am putting myself at risk for injury. I certainly don’t judge if that’s what you do; it is what I did into my 30’s and to be honest, I sometimes cut corners.  However, I started to be more deliberate in how I take care of my body.  I started going to the gym and sitting in the hot tub after a long run, or sit in the steam room if I feel a slight cold coming on.  

Once I started practicing deliberate patience with my exercise, I began to do it better in my daily life.  I put the phone away when I am outside with my kids; I sit and chat with my wife over coffee rather than read the news.  I have truly found that it is not the amount of accomplishment in the activity, but the quality of accomplishment.  I have since escalated to the variety of accomplishment.  Lacing up shoes and covering ground does not make you a runner any more than driving a car makes you a mechanic. If you want to turn professional in your habits, one needs to commit to the whole trade.

BOOM!!!

I started reading books about running (Born to Run by Chrier McDougall and Running On Empty by Marshall Ulrich were my first two great books).  These books gave me more knowledge about the evolution of the body as it pertains to running and to how to fuel the body. I started to pay more attention to advice from expert runners; I even listen to the ‘Marathon Training Academy’ podcast in iTunes.  I even got the honor to attend a Veteran trail running camp with Team Red, White and Blue, my volunteer non-profit.  I listened to some of the best in Ultra Running; Liza Howard, David Riddle, Dave James, and Marshall Ulrich.  I got a metabolic efficiency class by world renowned nutritionist Sunny Blende.  This opened my eyes to how much I was doing wrong. I was trying to use running to convince myself I was doing things right and healthy; rather than to respect running as something complex and challenging. 

Running is the one thing when I look back in time; I have never given it up or taken a break other than to rest from a big race.  It has become a core function of my day.  Sometimes looking back I can really see what some of my core actions, and therefore beliefs, really are.  I have to be careful though, you have to come to grips with the good and the bad.  For me, the other two constants are drinking and dipping.  So, while I get all happy about my running exploits and consistency as it pertains to ‘staying healthy’ I have to come face to face with the fact that I don’t live a completely healthy life.  Sometimes I wonder if running just helps achieve a zero balance.  Sometimes I wonder if we all have something that is our equalizer, our zero balance to the things we want to shake but never do. I challenge myself to say if health is an aspect of why I run, why don’t I apply that to all facets of my life and take then on with intent.  I don’t have an answer to that, it’s up to me committing, but sometimes I have to commit a little and build off that until I am confident I can equalize the bad and maximize the good.

In order to ensure running remains my equalizer I have really used it to set goals.  Initially it was to run a certain time or certain distance.  I would work to achieve it and then rethink the goals.  It wasn’t till I was listening to a runner speak about long term goals that I took on my biggest and longest challenge; to run a marathon in all 50 states. 

This post made me want to do a marathon til Mojo included this pic

The runner mentioned that goal setting in increments is good, but why shouldn’t our goals be building blocks rather than finish lines; “What is your 30 year goal?”  It makes me wonder how many people are looking that far out in their life.   For those who have not intentionally found something years out they want to accomplish, I highly suggest the practice.  It can be used as an azimuth as you conduct yourself to ensure that your behavioral you lines up with your conceptualized view.  For me this translated to me being a marathoner in concept, but in behaviors I was just someone who squeezed some miles in when I could and got right back to the next task.

So in the end, running has evolved from a distance to an attitude.  I went from caring about how fast I could run a high school 5k to caring about how well I could set aside time to both push and care for my body without cutting corners on the way to my goals.  Ensure that you spend your recreational time with a goal in mind and be willing to hold yourself accountable in the mirror.  You will enjoy sense of accomplishment in your heart far more than the medal around your neck.    

“Life’s a journey; not a destination”  --Aerosmith

They made it!

Did anyone else have to Google the word "azimuth"?  Remember my post a couple back about leadership?  That post, my friends, is why Mojo is truly a leader of some of the bravest men and women on the planet.  Well done, my brother.  You said you want to write more, this space is yours.

Got a couple more guest posts in the words, including one from my hero and one from my neighbor who I am slowly convincing to share her truly heartfelt story of how sports impacted her life.  Don't forget to follow us on Twitter!  Happy Halloween, everyone.  Hasta.