Tag: CCFA

When I Run, I Feel God’s Pleasure

“When I run, I feel God’s pleasure”. — Eric Liddell

That’s It!   Perfect!  Thank you, Craig Nickoloff, for sending me your critical email message yesterday.

The week-long Writer’s Retreat I’ve been attending on Sanibel Island concluded yesterday.   I have been working very, very hard.  Committed.  Intense.  Focused.

I took a well-earned nap, woke up, checked my blackberry, and here’s the message I read.  It was almost like a dream – a real, heaven sent type of dream.

With permission, here it is in it’s entirety:

“I’m still trying to figure out a way to not be so nervous that I make myself sick before the first race.”
Yeah, Buddy, you can do it!
If you’re visualizing yourself running & doing well, your body won’t have time to realize why it should be nervous.
Concentrate.
What’s your drive to run this race?  Run the race for him.
Forget Lane 8.  Run it. You’re running in your lane, to advance.  You’re winning this heat. The other runners are pushing you. You no longer care about time. Qualify with this heat.
As Eric Little said, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.”
You feel God’s pleasure.
You feel your son’s admiration & love.  Cheryl’s proud of you, to no end.
You don’t have time to think about nerves.
That’s what will drive you.
You’re already an inspiration. That’s not on your shoulders anymore.
You’re here.
This race.
This race for the next one.
You’re running it.
And you feel that pleasure…
GO.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Gonna read this again and again.

You know, it’s really weird, but I too can say, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure”.  Seriously.

Way seriously.  Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂

Life Isn’t Fair In Lane 8

Life isn’t fair in Lane 8.

During a break from writing yesterday, I Googled the last (2007) Master’s Track & Field World Championships results.

In the 400, there were nine qualifying heats in the 50-54 age group.  The top two finishers automatically qualified for the semi-finals.  The next six fastest finishers, regardless of their finishing place, also qualified.

This means a third, or even fourth place finisher, in the fast heats, were faster than the top two automatic qualifiers in slower heats.  It’s the luck of the draw, as they say.

What this means is that some of the top two in one heat would not have qualified in a faster heat.

It’s all part of the competition.  All part of life, as the saying goes.

I’m still trying to figure out a way to not be so nervous that I make myself sick before the first race.

Wish me luck.

Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

Lance Armstrong & Mahatma Gandhi

Lance Armstrong & Mahatma Gandhi.

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” —Mahatma Gandhi

Found this quote contained in Lance Armstrong’s Twitter message the other day.

You can follow Lance Armstrong on Twitter.  He has over 1.3 million Twitter followers.

Indomitable will.  I can’t get that word out of my mind.  Indomitable.

Impossible to defeat.  This is incomprehensible for me.

Kinda like going to Finland in three weeks for the World Championships.

Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

Le Tour de France

Le Tour de France is in it’s 96th running.

What’s the point?  It’s a 21-day competition.  Over 3,500 miles.  Seriously, 3,500 miles.  Think about it.

Some say it’s the world’s toughest athletic competition.  I would have to agree.

Time trials.  Flats. Sharp turns. Mountains.  For 21 days.  And these cyclists are riding hard.  Every single day.

Punishing. Grueling.  Relentless.

And then there’s this guy, maybe you’ve heard of him, Lance Armstrong.

Seven consecutive Tour de France victories.

Excellence.  Focus.  Drive.  Strategy.  Perseverance.  Tenacity.  Intensity.

Traits to live by, eh?

Or as Lance Armstrong suggests – traits to Live Strong!

Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki, Finland.  Yesterday, my wife and I were talking about the upcoming trip.  We agreed our current plan is the right one.

The day before, my son (nine) and I were talking about it too.  I told him, “I need to figure out how to not throw up or pee my pants before the race”.

He replied, “Huh”?

I said, “Seriously, I’m gonna be so nervous.  I have to figure out a way to deal with that or I’ll truly be faced with unwanted circumstances”.

In 25 days, I fly to Helsinki for the 2009 Master’s Track & Field World Championships, 400 meters, 50-54 age group.

I told my son, I won’t be running with people from Central Florida, or even the whole state.  Not the Southeastern United States. Not the entire US.  Not North America or even the western hemisphere.

The entire world.

Until I found myself on this “stage”, and I’ve been a lot of stages as a professional speaker, I had no idea what it meant to be world-class.

What I’ve found is there is a monumental difference between dreaming about it, and actually going up against the world’s best.

I hope this inspires you to try harder, or differently, than you have in the past.  If you do, you will experience more, and live with less regret.

This will make you a better person in so many ways.   Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂