Running Against the Odds: Presidential Edition

I have been thinking about this blog post for a while now. Every day I think of where I am headed and the obstacles I face. It’s a good thing I have this blog because for days that I’m off-track, I read my own words as motivation. Some time or another, my mind was on the right track.

And speaking of this blog, I would like to add Germany and Slovenia to the list of country where people have read this page. I just set a new goal for myself: To have this blog read by one person in each country on the entire planet. That’s difficult to achieve so when it happens, you better believe that EVERYONE will know about it. I’m going to need ALL of your help on this one so spread the word. Ninety percent of those who click onto this page are from the United States. Maybe I should write in some of the other languages I am skilled in. Nah… maybe not.

The purpose for this posting is to ponder the odds stacked against me, you and whoever is pursuing whatever. Part of the challenge of running a marathon is conditioning your body to handle the grueling 26.2 miles. It’s in these training runs where I find my pace that will allow me to finish the marathon with minimal injury. Let’s face it; I have never heard any serious runner not dealing with some sort of injury or another. With that being said, one can think of marathon running as pursuing a goal where the odds are ALWAYS stacked against you. If one isn’t careful and mindful of their training, one slight injury or any other abnormal health condition can ruin your hopes of even finishing the race, let alone achieving any specific time goals.

So as I pace myself through 2011, dealing with my everyday challenges, I can’t help but to reminisce on my very first cross-country drive across the United States of America. First of all, I tend to think fondly of these drives across this great land because it was truly a time of freedom of my mind, body, and spirit. This is the same freedom I feel when I run those long miles (or even the freedom felt as an American citizen for that matter) The pursuit of freedom is one that is enjoyed liberally in this country and always comes at a cost, but to me is well worth it.

As I was saying, my first drive across the United States was from the Tri-Cities in Washington State headed towards New York City. Along the route, after a night stop in Butte, Montana, I spontaneously decided to take a detour off of I-90 to visit Mount Rushmore (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rushmore) in South Dakota. There I would see America’s great leaders immortalized. As I toured the Mount Rushmore, the faces of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln appeared most dominant and made the biggest impression on me. Geometrically, their faces are bigger and are positioned on both ends of the four giving me the impression that these two men are most important. Don’t get me wrong, Thomas and Teddy may just as well be important, but George and Abe stand out more, not just in the mountains, but in American history in general. When I was a small kid, I could recall February 12 being designated Lincoln’s Day and February 20 or 21 designated Washington’s day and have those days off from school. Nowadays our society has used President’s Day as a way to honor multiple Presidents.

Anyway, these two men (to me) are the most important because they went against the status quo of their time to make hard decisions that benefit America today. They had a vision of what America was to inevitably be when others didn’t see. Not to discredit Jefferson and Roosevelt, but Washington saw a free America with all the colonies united as sovereign states, thus he led his men to fight for freedom against British superiority. And Lincoln envisioned an America with all the states, first and foremost UNITED, where all men live FREE. Now, one can argue the motives, process and tactics used during their decision-making, but that is beside my point and subject of another topic.

To pursue a vision when others can’t envision the reality of the end is not easy. It takes much will and strength of character. I like to keep the end goal in mind with every decision made along each step of the way. Managing your marathon training, presidents and generals managing the war strategies, parents managing households while raising kids in a diverse culture, students managing education while living and adjusting to life in a foreign land, the list goes on. Whatever it is and whatever the challenge, do not waver and hang on tight to the vision you saw that led you to initiate the pursuit of your goal. It’s all about finding your pace even when the odds are stacked against you. 

Motivation 103: Just Do It

Winter Joggers in Prospect Park

Judging by the stats recorded in my dashboard, my reach is worldwide (as I hoped). Thank you all for reading. Even though you don’t comment directly on this page (and I’m perfectly cool with that), your feedback is much appreciated. Some of you have reached out to me sharing some of your challenges and personal concerns. I’m not claiming to be a life expert (and I’m surely not perfect) but it is cool that I can share some of my experiences that gives you some insight into your own. The stats indicate that not only do I have readers in the United States, but my friends in France, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand have all taken some time to read some of my postings.

Anyway, last time I talked about how the environment and events around you can sometime be so overwhelming that it puts a damper on whatever you are trying to accomplish. Lately, I have been having a hard time motivating myself to run and train for my next race. I don’t really like to call these excuses: but things like my knee hurting and weather events hinder me from going out there as much as I should. I know this isn’t rocket science, but a lot of it has to do with my motivation to just do it. In previous races, it was simple… I sign up and work my best every day with scheduled training runs and complimentary rest before the event. I guess now I realize that my motivation needs to be strong in order for me to get back to where I was. I say this because lately I have been hesitating to sign up for races.

One thing I know about myself is that when I am motivated to do something, I keep moving forward and worry about whatever later. Case in point, back in 2004 I was on one of my many drives across the United States. With my then career-related goal in mind , I did not hesitate to think about the danger of driving through unpopulated areas of this country, nor did I care about the sweltering 115 degree heat of the Mojave Desert with no rest stops or water for over a hundred miles, nor the four days of driving it took for me to reach Los Angeles from New York City. I had the motivation to do it, and did not spend too much time anticipating the obstacles. Where did that motivation come from? Hard for me to say, but I did set a goal and did what it took to get there. To me, that’s very simple.

It is often harder than it sounds. Corporate managers go through hours of training in how to motivate themselves and their underlings, using theories like Maslow, Herzberg, and Theory X and Y, blah blah (boring to read but applying it is insightful). It doesn’t seem that scientific to me. Nike had an ad slogan back in the day that runs across my mind all the time, “Just Do It.” Yeah. In my perspective, it’s that simple. Don’t overthink, just do. So maybe I need to just sign up for a race. Whatever the case, I have the end goal of running the New York City marathon, whether it is this year or next year (hopefully this year), it will happen. Whenever I feel I am ready to train hard again, regardless of what is happening around me, I will “JUST DO IT”.