Run When You Can

Running is ubiquitous. It is a universal sport. It is as natural as taking a stroll, or running after the bus. You may be reminded by the way running has been integrated into our language:

Run away from danger.

People give you the run around.

Some people run away from responsibility

Others are on the run from the law.

Have you run your own business before?

How do you run your department?

Some run circles around us.

Perhaps it is time to make a run for it?

The house looks run down from the outside.

Beware the runaway train!

So, be mindful of how pervasive and persuasive running can be. This is my ex-colleague, Boon’s new blog. He is a PMET who is a talented, self-taught artist, who we enlisted for years for his visual art creativity. His art deserves a large audience because of his astute and acute observation of life.

Life imitates art. Art imitates life. Make the connection. Run for your life.

Your 30-Day Endurance Challenge

I dare you. Take part in this 30-day, continuous, challenge that will prove your worth.

You have 30 days to perform a continuous task. This will involve dribbles of discipline. It will mean enthusiastically engaging your Core – values, character and self-belief – to get down to serious business about your Potential. You could consider the following suggestions for your personal challenge:

1)    Exercise (do something physical) every day for about 20 minutes.

2)    Blog, on whatever you like to share or discuss, daily.

3)    Post 3-5 quotations of well-known people on Facebook.

4)    Write a page, of your 30-page novel/screenplay/play, everyday.

5)    Talk to, send a text message or e-mail, to three latent friends, each day. Actively keep in touch over Social Media, or in-person.

6)    Do something that is not your preference (i.e. a prejudice/dislike). It could be completing household chores, putting out the thrash, bathing your pet, or checking conditions of objects.

7)    If you are injured or recuperating from injury, diligently do your rehabilitative exercises for the next 30 days (and beyond) to become stronger and stable.

8)    [Insert your own challenge/Dare].

I am participating, too, with new challenges. Come May, this daily blog (on leadership) will be three years old! Thanks to author/marketing expert Seth Godin for initiating this challenge for me. This month, I will be focusing on my ride and swim (on alternate days) as these are my major areas for improvement. On the professional side, I will be researching and learning how to enhance my businesses, both online and face-to-face. Exciting days ahead!

I dare you. You can dare me back. All the best! And, enjoy the process in the next 30 days.

Giving Does Not Mean Giving Up!

After my piece yesterday on ‘giving’, Matthew wrote his feedback on my Comments page. He decided to write his own thoughts about the concept of ‘giving’. I appreciate his honest sharing as we thrive on feedback, especially if it guides us to become better – like refining our swim strokes so as to swim efficiently and faster.

We can give without aforethought, lest it be misconstrued as reciprocity. If we expect something in return for every deed we do for somebody, then this may easily be perceived as ‘wanting something in return’. This suggests a ‘hidden agenda’ or ‘assisting with a purpose’. Sure, some believe in this principle, and marketers are exploiting it when they offer freebies. Robert B. Cialdini also expressed this principle in his landmark book.

Generosity is a personal value; it is the opposite of being selfish and holding on to things. Generous people derive pleasure from sharing, helping and giving – they gain when they surrender a small part of themselves. Thus, on this platform (blog) we tend to do active cross-sharing with other resources. We interview people of distinction, review books and films, provide commentaries, and share our perspectives (through Tweets, articles and stories). There is no one right answer to a problem; there might be several. By merging or crossing ideas, we may encourage cross-fertilisation or the emergence of a better, hybrid idea.

While watching the television program called ‘The Doctors’ this morning, I learnt a new acronym for keeping heart disease in check. Dr Vonda Wright, MD wrote in her book, Fitness After 40 her acronym FACE that stands for: Flexibility, Aerobics, Carry a Load/Core, and ‘E’ which you can find out on your own – or even construct your own. The reality is: if you give away everything, the perceived value can also diminish. FREE may be view with suspicion because we believe that it may conceal a ‘catch’. Some have articulated that ‘If it is too good to be true, then it is too good to be true!’ It is merely a caveat, however it is useful to be vigilant when it comes to financial transactions and potential business partnerships.

Leadership Lessons: Feel free to apply the learning on this blog. There are few things that compare with the joy of learning, and a sense of achievement. Do give deeper thought on how you can apply the notion of ‘giving’: Give back, give up, give out (project), give, and forgive. Just give!

Do The Write Thing

I have been asked often: How do you write so regularly? My answer is terse: I maintain a daily blog on leadership. Therefore, I need to post as expected, be consistent, and lead with my messages.

Writing takes discipline, and this personal set of rules is no different from the decision to swim at lunch or run before sunrise. Write on your blog. Post on Facebook. Tweet. Writing means you think, then write. Learn four new words everyday. Appreciate the origins and historical reference of the vocabulary that we use. Here is the source I use when I need to reference a word or phrase.

Writing has built new connections for me. I used to have a handful of loyal readers (whom I am grateful to/for) and today, daily readership has grown. This is due to many connections we have established through collaborations in the social media circle.

Certainly, this blog can improve. I am sure I could migrate to a more permanent and flexible platform. However, I am a creature of habit and I am focused on content. Content is king! Sure, embellishments can make for a visually attractive site, however I prefer and believe in the relevance of the stories we post, interviews we conduct, depth of reviews, and recognition of others. In particular, we enjoy bringing to your attention the coterie of guests and discoveries we have made of people of excellence.

Triathlon is just an analogy; it is not the centerpiece of this blog. Anyone with endurance, persistence, tenacity, patience and determination meets our criteria for an endurance athlete. Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike used to say: ‘Anybody with a body is an athlete!’ Everyone has leadership qualities; we just access it differently and at different occasions.

Practice makes permanent – perfect practice makes perfect – so, practice through writing. Write on.

*****

Today, at about 12.00pm (local time) or 27 April in New York, would be the result for the lottery drawing for the New York City Marathon 2011. Hopefully, I’ll bag my slot for this cold run over the five famous boroughs of The Big Apple. My friend Andrea wrote a report on her 2009 maiden marathon experience. Enjoy the read!

This morning, I swam for an hour comprising drills and body position. I chased this session with an evening 2-hour ride (intervals on a closed circuit). I then did a run-brick of 30 minutes at Ironman tempo pace (5:30 minutes/km). My body feels stronger after two weeks of laboured breathing (due to a head-cold). My training heart rates are back to normal, and I can resume my tough Gold Coast Marathon program prescribed by Coach. Not easy, I assure you as The Fox has a way of cranking up the intensity without breaking me down – for that, I am grateful. Have a good day!

Ordinary People Leading Extraordinary Lives

‘If you can find meaning in the type of running that you do, then you might find meaning in that other pastime called life.’ ~ BILL BOWERMAN

What would possess a person to rise at dawn, swim, ride, and run almost the entire day – just to earn a medal and a t-shirt? What would entice a person to run a marathon at night, where it is warm and humid and risk heat disorder? What inspires a person to climb Mount Everest – the highest point in the world – and risk life and limb?

On this daily blog, we hope to provide some form of incentive for you to stay active, engaging, interactive and interpersonal with others. We call these abilities and skills – leadership. Leading others, and influencing them in positive ways towards their destiny – known as their potential – is our mission.

When top-blogger and renowned marketing author, Seth Godin proposed in his book and blog to write one blog post a day, everyday for three years, I took up the challenge. It has been almost two years, and it has been a great adventure so far. We have interviewed many amazing, everyday, people who lead day-jobs and also do extraordinary things as their pastimes and pursuits.

Many of us featured on this blog are Everyday People, who fit the wide profile of 20-70 years. Endurance sports are a way of expressing ourselves. We indulge in sports like marathons and triathlons because we can exceed ourselves, define our limits, socialize and enjoy quality life. We learn how to not judge others too readily, for looks can be deceiving. We are encouraged by the exploits of others, basking in their happiness of achieving their personal best. We appreciate their sense of accomplishment and achievement.

Ordinary people who lead extraordinary lives inspire me. Kyle Pease has cerebral palsy and he just ran a half-marathon a week ago, and will do a triathlon with his two brothers in a month’s time. He writes about how he appreciates fully his caregivers and supporters. Previously, the Hoyts showed how a father’s love for his son led them to share the Ironman triathlon experience.

We take great pride in reporting about these ordinary people with extraordinary spirits and stories. Thus, we will continue to recognize them because they inspire us for what they have done and will continue to do. For that we are indeed fortunate.
*****

The OSIM Singapore International Triathlon 2011 is looming close. Whether you are preparing for your first triathlon or have a couple of races under your belt, how you prepare and what you do leading up to your event is crucial as well as what you actually do during the race makes a big impact on your performance on the actual race day. We have assembled a team of ten experts and practitioners to help with your preparation.

The team will cover topics ranging from event strategies, mental prepping, sports-injury management to nutritional planning. And not just talks! You can look forward to actual run and cycle clinics led by our experienced triathletes. Plus we has organised an actual open-water swim clinic; not just at the swimming pool.

So get ready to prime yourself. For more details and registration, visit http://www.back2sports.com.sg/PrimeYourself/

PS: I will be leading the first run clinic on 23 April, and sharing my learning methodologies on how I progressed from a non-long distance runner to a recent Boston marathon qualifier.

That Fondly Familiar Feeling

This evening, I return from an 11km run with sore calves. I have been running ‘barefoot’ for a few sessions, with my thin-soled Vibram Five Fingers Bikila.

I did not experience an appreciable loss of speed. I ran at 4:55 minute/km pace, which was surprising. I was nursing my sore calves, triggered off by Sunday evening’s excursion to a new running route. Despite my discomfort and painfulness of my lower legs, I observe that my legs are stronger as I can do free-hand squats with stability. My core stability has also improved over the last three months. Other than a mildly clicking left ankle (old injury), there was no puffiness or pain with my knees.

As I hobbled along like a cripple for dinner tonight, an hour after I ceased running, I was reminded of my post-Ironman races. I tend to be an incapacitated mess 24-48 hours after the 226km challenge, especially my calves and thighs. Yet, days after I swore never to participate in such a race again, I invariably consider another triathlon or marathon. Unfortunately, I do not get addicted to the ‘runner’s high’ anymore – not that I don’t want it. It is purely a personal challenge and yearning for achievement.

I am certainly reminded of the tough training and sacrifices to be made yet these are not buried in the deep recess of my mind. They remain as memories and fond reminiscences. Pain and discomfort may not be deterrents, as they can be used as relevant lessons. That is what this blog is about – lessons from endurance sports like triathlons and corporate life.

How do you remind yourself to do your chores? How do you engage your discipline? How do you remind your team to do the necessary? What are your priorities?

I am reading ultra-marathoner and twice Badwater winner, Pam Reed’s biography The Extra Mile: One Woman's Personal Journey to Ultra-Running Greatness. It is very good and she wrote about her motivations to run well, and reminders about her eating disorder.