Friday, January 7, 2011

When You Need Help, Seek The Experts

‘Who you gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!’ ~ Theme song

We don’t have all the answers, thus we ask questions. Questions give us focus and a sense of purpose. Open-ended questions allow us to comprehend. Close-ended questions allow us to verify, validate and consolidate. We may not fully understand many things, although we say we do. What does understanding something mean to you? Does having the head knowledge mean you understand? When you say you know, does that mean you also understand? If you know, can you apply your knowledge (as skills) confidently?

These questions may be vexing, yet we ask them to comprehend, appreciate, learn, and understand matters. Our curiosity underlies our ability to examine, investigate, check, research, discover, learn, ponder, and consider. Adventurers are driven by a sense of curiosity and the need to discover. Our maritime forefathers demonstrated that when they set sail for the New World with some getting utterly lost and disorientated. Some were purported to have sailed off the edge of the world!

Experts have more than knowledge. They also possess tacit experience and tacit wisdom. They are regarded as experts because they know more, have expertise, and can make recommendations based on their area of specialty and passion. Experts can help us think and do outside the box. Thus, the roles of coach and mentor have their relevance in both the corporate world as it does with our community, family and our friends.

How open and broad-minded are you to professional advice? How well do you take feedback? When was the last time you sought an expert? Do you have a coach for your endurance sport? Learn and lead. Learn to lead. 
***
Yesterday evening, I decided to go for an easy run, as the sky dimmed prematurely with looming grey clouds. It was raining predictably for a few consecutive evenings. I ran two sets with a 5-minute break between them: 11K at 4:35 pace, and 10K for 4:55 pace. It was faster than I expected; I almost had a PB in training for my 11K, however missed out slightly. Nevertheless, I will aim to hold my 21K at about 4:30 pace, consistently for a PB at the Singapore 70.3 in March. That’s the plan, man!

I was running with another runner, and we kept each other company for about 8K. I overtook him twice, and he overtook me once when I took a drink at the 17K mark. Whoever he is, thanks buddy for the race-like conditions. My Facebook posting of my training session drew many useful comments – thank you, my friends! With my new age group, my qualifying time for the Boston Marathon will be 3:30. Looks like my goal is several minutes within reach (3:37:06 at Berlin in September on a cold and rainy day), although I would love to still achieve a 3:20 within a year. I will surround myself with experts, and back to planning my performance goals with my Coach! The Hong Kong Marathon awaits me after Chinese New Year.

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