Category: Uncategorized

Stay Focused – Lane 8

Lane 8, you need to stay focused. You have to. You need to.  This is the arguement that goes on, constantly, in my head.

Lane 8, you have to.  No, Lane 8, you need to. It’s like this vicious circle that can’t be broken.

You know what would be the easy thing to do?  Just drop it.  Just walk away. Simply move on to some other thing that would be infinitely easier, way more fun, and probably take less time too.

The reality?  There is not quitting.  Ever.  Period.  End of story.  Get a grip. The list of phrases that speak to me is endless.

Just last Thursday I was reminded of exactly why I can never quit. A high cholesterol report.

Can Barely Walk

Last night I could barely walk.  Foot pain.  Left heel.  Why?  Not sure.

Some of you know I represented the United States at the 2009 Masters Track & Field World Championships in Lahti, Finland.  The first week of August seems like so long ago, when in fact, it wasn’t.  Since then, I’ve completely tapered off on training. Completely.

So why the pain?

What is amazing to me, and something I tried to hide in the Lane 8 blog posts before traveling to Finland, is that I was actually able to compete at all.

“Then why put yourself through all this”?, is a common question.  Roger Bannister, the first human to break the four-minute mile barrier, said it best:

“I sometimes think that running has given me a glimpse of the greatest freedom a man can ever know, because it results in the simultaneous liberation of both the mind and body…..  The runner does not know how or why he runs.  He only knows that he must run…..  We run, not because it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves”. — Roger Bannister 1956

It Hit Me Yesterday

A Lane 8 follower commented yesterday and it made me think hard.

There’s a secret hope to inflict a (great) sense of responsibility on you readers.

It’s actually a fulfillment of my responsibility as a writer and thinker.  To think.  Then to write. And then to wait and see if it actually made anyone, other than me, think.

However, I do not let the scarcity of comments stop the daily blog postings. How would that be possible?  To preach daily focus, daily discipline and daily self-reflection, and not follow it.  That would be, well, hypocritical.

So, therefore, it is impossible to stop writing every day.  Why?

Because even though I thoroughly enjoy helping others, the real target audience is my Family.

PS.  In an apparent contradiction, even though I thoroughly enjoy helping my Family, the real target audience is you.

Got Ideas?

Got ideas?  Yes indeed.  The challenge is ideas aren’t worth the paper they’re written on if you can’t make them work.  This is true in our business life and our personal life.

People constantly come up with ideas to run the government better. Or ideas to help their favorite sports team do better. Or ideas their boss ought to use to become a better leader.

But when do we actually use any of these ideas on ourselves?  When do we look at ourselves with the same level of scrutiny as we do others? When?

And when do we ever attempt to take one of our ideas and apply it to ourselves?  When?  Seriously, when?

My advice is simply this.  I don’t give advice unless a person’s situation is life threatening, or, they ask me for advice.

So, when talking to myself – which is everyday, all day – I’m constantly looking for ways to become better.  Lane 8 is only one of five daily blogs I write.  Why?  Because it’s an idea that’s being implemented.

Level Of Fitness @ Lane 8?

Yesterday’s Lane 8 blog post ended with me promising to share today the level of fitness that was unknowingly gained on the journey to become a world class Master’s athlete.

And by the way, the goal was never to become a world class Master’s athlete.  The goal was, and always will be, about getting and staying healthy to contend with the hereditary predisposition to both physical and mental illnesses.  I am, after all, 50 years old.  🙂

Here’s a jeff noel midlife You Tube video which highlights the strength of the body’s core.  And just before heading to Lahti, Finland for the 2009 WMA Master’s Track & Field World Championships, I increased the time from “20-count” (in this clip) to 30-count:

Guarantee you, if you try to put both feet up at a 90-degree angle, you won’t be able to hold it for more than a “2-count”. Don’t believe me? Try it. Carpe diem!