Tag: USATF

Hurts Like Hell

Blah, blah, blah….hurts like hell. Still.  My foot hurts.  A lot.

If you’re new to Lane 8, welcome.  Earlier this year, there were quite a few Lane 8 blog posts discussing my foot pain and whether or not I could travel to Finland for the Master’s Track & Field World Championships.

And yesterday, after writing the post, “43rd”, it caused me to do several things:

  • Be amazingly thankful
  • Become more confident
  • To feel like a victor, rather than a victim
  • Pray for others to overcome their own struggles

The last one in particular is the one that seems most important.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Fall down seven times, get up eight.

If you’re goal isn’t impossible, you’re not reaching high enough.

Carpe diem.  It’s completely up to you. You are the CEO of YOU, Inc.

Yep, it’s gonna hurt like hell to reach your big dreams.  Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Once you realize that hard work is the way, the way gets easier.  It doesn’t become easy, simply easier.

43rd

Friday we went to Twistee Treat, like we always do, and our order came out the drive thru window, like it always does (without ordering).

The friendly Twistee Treat employee, Lori (may or may not be her real name), asked, “How’d it go?”

We’ve been going to Twistee Treat for four years and Lori was always there on Mondays and Fridays.  For the past year or so though, Lori has a different schedule, we rarely see her.

Quickly, my brain started working overtime to remember what Lori was referring to.  Nothing.

So I sort of embarrassingly asked Lori, “How’d what go?”

“The track meet.”

Then it hit me.  I gave Lori a Lane 8 business card at some point and must have described the Lane 8 vision.  You know, “If your goal isn’t impossible….I don’t care if I get the worst lane and come in last.”

Because I’ve had time to process, and have overcome the reluctance to just spit it out, I was able to come right out with it, “Forty-third.  In the world.”

“There were 5,300 athletes from 80 different countries.  In my event (400m) alone, there were 63 athletes aged 50-54.  Eight of them were Americans.  Seven made it to the semi-finals.  I was the one that didn’t.”

43rd. In the whole world.  Ya with me?

Lane 8 Patience Is Genius

“Genius is nothing but a greater aptitude for patience”. — Gerorges Louis Leclerc de Buffon

Isn’t it amazing how impatient we can be? It certainly is to me.  Whenever I start to think patience has been mastered, another unexpected test comes along.  One that tests my patience in new ways.

And these tests come out of nowhere.  And many times, from extremely innocent surroundings,  when we least expect it.

“You can not teach patience with impatience”. — jeff noel

You will never succeed at overcoming your wellness challenges if you are impatient.  This is one of the fundamental laws of self improvement.  One of the hardest lessons I’ve ever had to learn.

Lane 8, What’s Next?

Lane 8, “What’s next”?

Face to face questions, as well as emails, ask the same thing, “Are you preparing for any upcoming meets”?

Yes, and no.

YES, there are two big meets in 2010.  The WMA Masters Track & Field Indoor World Championships in early March, in Kamloops, British Columbia.  And there’s the USA Masters Track & Field National Championships, in July, in Sacramento, California.

NO, the left heel pain precludes me from anything remotely intense enough to be considered world class training.

This may be a good thing. If you don’t know, it was never the intent to become a world class Master’s athlete.  But after several years of running and making common sense, common practice, I wanted to see if it could actually be done.

Tomorrow I’ll describe the level of fitness that I didn’t even know I had achieved.  And what it feels like to see it slip away and the thought process on how, and if, I should deal with that.

Lane 8 Travels Again

Lane 8 is on the move.  No, not to a Master’s Track and Field Meet.  Good guess though.

Traveling to give a speech.  That’s what I do.  I’m a professional speaker.

Actually, I’ll speak anywhere to anyone, as long as it’s something I’m passionate about.  Church, Parenting, Children’s Religious Education, Boy Scouts, Home Owner’s Association, Master’s Track and Field, Wellness, Fitness, Health, Mid Life Celebration, Impossible Goals, Blogging, Social Media, Social Networking, Addiction, Behavior Modification, Gardening.

So anyway, until social media policies are better defined, it is incumbent on employees to do their best with the interpretation of general guidelines. There are so many employees who where out ahead of corporate social media policies.  So now, these companies have to play “catch up” to reign in what was never defined.

This will take some time, and companies are being decently patient, by allowing their employees to make the changes that the new guidelines call out. Facebook, LinkedIn, My Space, Blogs, Websites, You Tube, Flickr, Posting Comments, Chat Rooms, personal email – the list is endless.

It’s smart business if you ask me.  And just like anything else, including our health, the sooner we start, generally speaking, the sooner we see results.