Monday, November 29, 2010

Taking the next step

Concentrate on small segments of your race at a time. For example, rather than obsessing about the distance that remains, simply complete the next mile in good form...try another, then another, until the race is done. ~ Jerry Lynch

The above quote reminds me of the dedication one has to have in all aspects of life. Running a marathon or for that matter almost any distance requires dedication. Weight loss, being a great student or employee and even life is a series of steps. Whatever your goal(s) is or are, we need to be aware that we will not achieve our goals overnight. Let's take a look at a person who wants to lose weight. Weight loss is a very challenging endeavor! There are many obstacles in our way daily! We are bombarded by advertisements for fast food, junk food and disaster lurks in most of our refrigerators. The reason most people fail at losing weight and keeping it off is that they set unrealistic goals, they have little if any plan in place to achieve those goals and they do not take the step approach. I like to say that you didn't gain that twenty or thirty pounds overnight so what makes you think it is going to come off overnight! We become depressed and fall off the wagon when we don't achieve the desired result. Whether it is weight loss, running or life we need to continue moving forward and taking positive steps with the knowledge that to achieve our goal(s) it is going to take time. Look at every success and congratulate yourself. If you have a bad day, take a moment to reflect on what you did and work to not do the same thing again.
We live our lives one day at a time, and at the end of the day, when we reflect back on our day we should be proud of the steps we took that day. Some were better than others, but we persevered and we know that tomorrow will bring a new series of steps that will present to us many challenges and many opportunities. Just keep moving forward.

Happy Running

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Dedication

We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon. ~Emil Zatopek

Dedication. I hear this word tossed around from time to time in various circles. But do any of us really know what it means? There are of course dictionaries in which we can look up the technical "definition" of the word, but beyond that do we really know what it means to be dedicated. Too be selflessly devoted to whatever it is we are aiming to achieve!
There are people in this world that I see as selflessly devoted or dedicated. Mothers and fathers come to mind almost instinctively. As parents we are dedicated to raising our children right. We raise our children to have a certain value set in which they display proper manners, know right from wrong. We feed them, clothe them and protect them as best we can. None of us had to become parents, we choose to become parents and in doing so, we unknowingly became dedicated for life, to our children.
A recent story on msnbc.com reminds me again that dedication can take many forms. This is a story about two men, two men who have transcended the sport of running. You can read the entire story here. These two men combined have run over 1,700 marathons. They have run together for the better part of 30 years and they are still going at it today. Not nearly as fast as they once were, they continue to push forward with the knowledge that in their hearts they know they can keep going. Now I know a lot of you are saying to yourself, whats the big deal...ya 1700 is a lot of marathons to have run but how can these two men be any different than anyone else? Did I happen to mention that Don is 90 and and Norm is 79!

Happy Running

Monday, November 22, 2010

Goals

"Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” -Fitzhugh Dodson

The definition of a goal is the purpose toward which an endeavor is directed; an objective. The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed! I'd like you to take a moment and ask yourself what your goal(s) is/are? Do you have an objective in mind? What is it that you would truly like to accomplish? My idea's on goals are that they should be lofty enough that you have to work your butt off to achieve them yet they must still be realistic and attainable. Now your goal may be that you want to run a marathon or a half marathon or maybe your goal is you want to go back to school and get your degree, that's great! Ask yourself if that goal is realistic! Is it actually attainable? If you feel that it is, then we need to move on to the second part of the quote...having a plan to reach your goals...

This is unfortunately where most people fall off the wagon. We don't plan properly. We don't plan to achieve the desired result. Sure we all start off with great intentions until life gets in the way. Kids, school, work, family, ect...the list can go on and on. So in the end, the great plan that you had becomes secondary and the result is you don't achieve your goal(s).
So what can you do to actually achieve the goals you have set for yourself? I like to follow the three P's of success. Prepare, Plan and Perform.

Prepare -
Before you can make a plan you need to prepare properly. Do you have the time to dedicate to running a marathon or half marathon? Do you have the money to go back to school? Before you can make an effective plan you must know that you can actually dedicate the time, energy and resources!

Plan - So you believe you can dedicate the time, energy and resources to creating an effective plan to achieve your goal(s). Now it is time to plan. You need to plan for everything! If you are putting together a training plan to run a marathon, these plans are generally 18 weeks or longer in duration. You need to know in advance that there will be times when life dictates that you have to deviate from your plan. This is ok and normal, what would be bad is you never get back on track and abandon your plan. So if you get sick and you miss a week, it is not the end of the world. You can either pick back up where you left off or you just restart where you currently are and just "skip" the days that you missed. The biggest key in planning is knowing that not all plans are perfect and not all plans can be followed to the letter. Another quick note about plans and planning. You should create or develop a plan that fits you. There is no one size fits all training plan. Everyone is different so why have a cookie cutter training plan. You know you and you know you better than anyone else. What I use for training works for me, but it probably wouldn't work for anyone else! Remember it is YOUR destination, you need to set the course and raise the sail. No one will do it for you!

Perform - Now it is time to go out there and execute the plan. I challenge you to put 100% effort into every aspect of your plan. So that way if you miss a day or two or three, it really won't matter all that much provided you are pushing it hard and doing everything you can to stay on track. If you perform well at executing your plan properly, you will perform well on race day.


Happy Running

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Welcome

Hi and welcome to my little blog! I would like to take this opportunity to thank a few people who are the reason's behind why I will be writing this blog. I would like to thank The Fargo Marathon, Scheels, GOFAREVENTS and most especially Mark Knutson for this great opportunity to be a small part of the The Fargo Marathon. I am honored and more than a bit humbled at being a featured runner at the 2011 Fargo Marathon.
I am certain that everyday will bring about many new things to blog about. I will do my best to provide inspiration and motivation to any and all who would like/need it! I am going to end this first post with a quote that I hold near and dear to my heart. This quote is one that I have memorized and ingrained into my mind and heart. It was said by a great man named Steve Prefontaine.

"Most people run a race to see who is the fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts!"

Do you have the guts? Do you have the guts to train hard? Do you have the guts to tell other's what YOU are training for and what you ARE going to accomplish? Do you have the guts to toe the line on race day and know in your heart that you have already accomplished the impossible just by getting there? Do you have the guts to Go Far? If you do, you have already succeeded, now all you have to do is go out and run!

Happy Running!