Holding Back and Being (A) Patient

‘If it hurts – stop – and think about slowing down.’

It’s been harped and haloed as a harangue: Be patient. Patience is a virtue.

Patience is a useful value, especially when one activates stubbornness. My stubborn streak is born of knowledge and experience. So, I get opinionated when it comes to certain subjects of my expertise. I am obstinate when it comes to taking my advice, sometimes. In this case, I allowed myself to listen to my advice uttered by a professional (with inherent credibility).

I have initiated medical proceedings: I had my sports injury accessed by a sports doctor at the Changi Sports Medicine Centre. I appreciated my new doctor’s battery of diagnostic testing which isolated a possible cause. Because I have a low arch, and I pronate my feet a fair bit, I have strained a muscle in my lower-leg. To assure myself, I opted to do an MRI of my foot this afternoon. Hopefully, after my MRI images are looked at, I can be clear and exact about my condition and attend to it.

Meanwhile, I will lay of impactful activities so it will be mostly swimming and cycling. I will begin physiotherapy work on my foot next week. Podiatry is another option I may to consider. When you age, and partake in strenuous sports activities, your body undergoes specific changes including posture and supporting muscles. Muscle imbalances are common afflictions that can be managed with dedication and discipline.

Two months more to Berlin Marathon and I will have to bid my time until I fully recover, which may be before or after this crucial race. Better to be fully healed than exacerbate my uncomfortable situation. I strongly my base aerobic fitness will back me up, once I can resume more weight-bearing activities, especially running. I hope to hear good news next week, and I stay optimistic and hopeful.

Meanwhile, exercise safely and be patient about your gains.

Are You the Hunter of the Hunted?

In 2009, Craig ‘Crowie’ Alexander chased the lead pack during the marathon leg of the Ironman World Championships in Kona and found his victory. He patiently ran as he sliced of 40 seconds per mile, as he found his true place in the race. In 2010, Andreas Raelert, finally, caught up with Macca during the last few miles of the marathon, only to be spent. Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack applied mind games with him, and beat him up the hill and won his second world title in Kona. My friend, Tobias Frenz overtook a former-professional rider at the 300K mark of the double-Ironman race in Abu Dhabi. Tobias won, back-to-back, the single and double-Ironman races held on two days!

There are both positive and negative connotations of being a hunter. If you are the hunter, you will be managing your pace so as to overtake any stragglers or competitors? In running, you make your pass, increase the lead, and hold it. Unless the overtaken runner challenges you, it means that they have conceded the pass to you (until the next opportunity). A hunter can also be perceived as combative, militant or threatening as he is seeking the bounty. Legal bounty-hunters assist the law with search-and-arrest of criminals. Sales professionals and top legal-eagles focus on the ‘closer’. To be able to ‘close’ is to be able to successfully influence the panel of decision-maker to ‘buy’ into the concept or contract.

The hunted, is pursued by the relentless. They will be eyed as a 'prize', and the fitter and faster runner will make his move upon closing in on you. You can prevent it from happening, by increasing your pace, and applying tactical interventions that are offensive or defensive in nature. Last Saturday night, for the first two kilometres of the 21K of the Sundown Marathon, a female runner ran closely with me. As I shifted ground, she followed opting to run side-by-side with me. Instead of shrugging with mild annoyance, I elected to shrug her off by increasing my pace. My watch showed 9:30 for the first 2K's, which exceeded my initial pace. Thankfully, I held this pace for most of the remaining 19K's in case I was further hunted. In my second-half of the race, I overtook 32 runners and was overtaken by three others. Pretty good returns on my investment, if I may say so.

To be hunter or the hunted requires values of patience, persistence, endurance and tenacity. If you surrender too soon, the game is over. If you insist in chasing, the game is afoot. Set your values alight, and trail-blaze your way to the finish-line.

Other times, what is hunted is not the position, it is the timing or ranking. Beating your personal best time may mean qualifying for the Boston Marathon or the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. Whatever your intellectual, physical and emotional investments, your holy grail may be worth the price of purposeful pursuit.

Leadership Lessons: How are you making yourself sought after as a valuable resource? How often do executive search professionals (headhunters) call on you? How do you make yourself the hunted in your field of pursuit? How enduring are you when chasing your dream, or dream job?

Re-Setting The Clock

Upon touchdown on the tarmac, I sense a re-calibration of my sense of time. After 36 hours of enhanced tranquility on the island resort of paradise, Bali I was ready to immerse myself into the perceived helter-skelter of urban life. Having worked the entire of yesterday, I was still ‘working mode’ and envied those who were there on vacation.

As I ran yesterday evening, on the shores of the Jimbaran locality, I sensed that my metronome was oscillating a little too fast. My need for speediness contrasted significantly against the serendipity and sensuousness of the island. Most tourists were strolling slowly, albeit awkwardly whereas the local boys were kicking their footballs with the ferocity of goal-driven soccer players. The difference between the locals and the visitors was one group was having fun, while he other was trying to have fun.

Given time, nervous energy can be dissipated easily through activity. On Sunday morning, both participants of the Ironman Western Australia and Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon will be clocking their physical performance. As the day progresses, each of them will find their own timing and pace. The endurance race does not go to the stronger or the fastest, but the most patient…and patience is about bidding your own time.

My metaphor for life is that we are all in a queue within a larger queue. What we do in the queue determines how much we move ahead. There will be those who may cut the queue, and there are consequences when they are detected. For the rest of us, we can make the best use of our time and experience standing in line or shifting the line.

All the best to the runners and triathletes for 4 December! May you make full recovery and fulfill your personal destiny.

Leadership Lesson: How often do you reset your body clock? How often do you shift your internal metronome? When you go on vacation, are you able to relinquish your reliance on technology for a short duration? Do you bring your work home? How do you make the most of your time in the queue?

While We Wait, The Hours Are Ticking…

We spend a significant and unimaginable amount of our time and lives waiting in queues and for others. Waiting can be described as longing, anticipation, patience, whiling away the time, killing time and awaiting. In some cultures, waiting for your clients is an expectation and you accept that it is conventional and traditional. Waiting might also be a part of the ritual of business concourse, for we justify it with the phrase ‘it is well worth the wait’. Indeed, all good things come to those who wait.

Singapore Blade Runner - he ran mano a mano with the rest of the competitive 10K field. A prominent face, next to Adam One-Armed Runner in the running community he was a Cheerleader.

Sometimes, waiting can be too time-consuming and we plunge ourselves into impatience. We hurry things up, as well of others. We impose our timelines upon others so that they may proceed with haste and a sense of urgency. We rush, expedite and accelerate others so that we can change gears and attain higher efficiency. Invariably, we risk making mistakes and jump to conclusion for we fail to attain full comprehension. Be mindful that you do not do it often.

Outside of work, I have enjoyed a full month of racing, researching and reading. I had raced in the adidas King of the Road (KOTR) 10-miler (16.8K) Run, Singapore Bay Run (21K), 2XU Mega-Tri (long course) and Yellow Ribbon Prison Run (YRPR). I earned personal bests in the first two, and a narrow miss at the third installment of the 10K Competitive YRPR yesterday. The official results showed me in 44th position with time of 44:44. What are the odds of that? Coincidence - I think, not. I also assessed my triathlon fitness at last week’s Mega-Tri and am clear where I stand, and have useful data and discoveries to apply to my twelfth Ironman race in New Zealand in March next year.

With Alvin Ho & Derek Lau (back on home-leave and this race) minutes before the official flag-off.

I will be signing up for Boston Marathon 2012 in a few hours’ time, and hopefully, I will receive good news in a weeks’ time. The new, multi-tier, system of registration does make it fair for faster runners to qualify as priority. It just makes sense, and encourages better attempts at BQs in the future. At 10.00pm Singapore time (Boston, Monday 10.00am) I will register with a few of my buddies including Melvin How, Andrew Leong and Vincent Yang. We will have till 25 September to register, and we will know our results by 28 September. The only peeve that BQs have is that some of these qualifying times were set on more challenging courses and climates. Unfortunately, there is yet to be a complex system of measuring handicaps. Well, first things first for we will assess if the new multi-tier, performance-based, meritocratic approach works better than the frenetic, free-for-all, online applications in the past.

Photo-credits: Run Events, Sky Ronaldo (Singapore Mad Runner), Tey Eng Tiong

Patience As Your Virtuosity

I recall the opening credits for each episode of the 1970’s television series, ‘Kung Fu’. The blind Shao Lin master monk would say to the young Kuai Zhang Kane: ‘Grasshopper – you have finally snatched the pebble from my hand. It is time for you to leave the monastery!’ A visibly sad, Kane would then get his first and last tattoo (of a dragon – what else?) seared into his puny forearms when he carried the hot cauldron with the embossed tattoo outline across a reasonable distance (to set the imprint). Indelible printing technology has come a long way! When I see the blood red ‘M-Dot’ on the Achilles Heel of triathletes – I know that they may have made their pilgrimage to Kona, Hawaii for the Ironman triathlon world championships. Such is pride born of patience.

My friend, John Cooke reached his target weight whilst training for his next Ironman in Lanzarote, Canary Islands. He has been patient and continues to reap benefits from his discipline to stick to his plan. We will be headed up their in about two weeks’ time. Three other participants dropped out from the original team, and are focused on Ironman China instead. This is a blog about a patient 45-year-old runner.

It takes time to improve. Youth has an advantage in terms of physical recovery. That does not mean Masters athletes don’t have an edge: we can get more with less. The over-40, athlete can become fitter and stronger with shorter mileage, and increased intensity. Thus, strength and power training through kickboxing, interval training, kettle-bell training, CrossFit (circuit training), core stability work, Pilates and yoga can enhance one’s physical performance when included in a weekly training menu. Proper nutrition takes time to be processed (digestion is about patience) and assimilated by your body.

The more challenging the goals or higher the expectations – the more patience we need. You cannot rush a professional photographer through a session and hope for great shots. You cannot be impatient with your convalescence when you realize that antibiotics and medicines take time to work their effects. You cannot rush potential business-partners or clients to seal a deal when trust and honesty is not fully there. Patience pays. It pays to be patient. Education takes time. The marathon is a longer race, run at a slower but sure pace – but you will get there, even if you walk.

If you like to test your patience, sign up for this mint race! It promises a totally new scenic view.

Leadership Lessons: How patient can you be? When do you lose your patience? How do you apply your patience to your profession, recreation and relationships? 

Patience Pays Off Eventually

It has been said that Patience is a virtue. Wait long enough, do enough, and you may enjoy the results of your persistent work. Consider those documentary filmmakers on the National Geographic channel – they are the epitome of patience. The best photojournalist wait weeks or months just to get another shot of the same subject or scenery. The colleagues of the irritating and testing medical genius in the Emmy-winning television series, House, M.D. exhibit extreme patience with his neurotic, medication-infused behaviors.

My friend, Hui Koon did a PB in his swim tonight. He shaved off a significant amount of time in the swimming pool, after months of dedicated swim sessions and master-classes. I am sure that he will do much better than his recently, admirable 1:10 in his wetsuit. With the certain, inherent buoyancy afforded by the neoprene, second skin this means that swimmers can swim more effectively from the trade-off.

I, too, have experienced the outcomes of my patience. After my unfortunate and untimely bike accident, I had to heal completely before Ironman New Zealand (IMNZ). I recovered recently from a series of over-distance related running injuries. I can now run unshod (almost-barefoot) for more than 10K consistently. My core stability has improved after weeks on the wobble-board and lying in the challenging Plank position. I completed the grueling hot and humid 84K night ultra-marathon after weeks of senseless, high-mileage plodding after my dismal IMNZ.

Starting a business requires patience before you experience results. Patience is a subset value of Endurance. It is also related to Loyalty. Loyal friends are patient in their relationships. Activate your patience on a daily basis. Continue improving so that you rise above your standards. Continue exploring so you remain contemporary.

Does Patience Pay?

Is patience really a virtue? Patience is taught in the fable of the tortoise and the hare. Does it pay to wait? How about pausing for a cause? Last Sunday, I watched twice-Ironman triathlon world champion Craig Alexander defend his title in the Aviva Singapore Ironman 70.3. He, gradually, narrowed his lead from a slower swim and bike, and eventually overtook the leaders in the half-marathon leg.

Sometimes, it can be useful not to take premature plunges into the opportunity pool. Your intuition can signal you, enough for you to take note. Fantasy genre author, Nicola describes her unnerving experience turning down two publishers.

Endurance races tests our patience. So does starting a new business. Having been in business for a decade, being patient can be a decadent act. Passive waiting is wasteful of one’s time; actively awaiting results and client’s decisions is different. If you were waiting for results of a medical test, you would have to wait. If you were waiting for your new bike to arrive, it can be time filled with anticipation and excitement. Those of us waiting for a surprise win at a slot for Kona in the Ironman lottery experience different emotions as the announcement of results draws near. After submitting your manuscript for approval from a potential publisher can be a harrowing experience if you are not prepared to receive useful feedback or disappointing news.

I am convinced that building a customised bicycle takes time. It takes just as much time to have that same bike properly fitted to your unique body structure and habits. Building a fit body to race actively and regularly requires patience to train correctly and recover fully.

Time will tell. However, idleness and fear can foretell a future that is fraught with fear. Pace yourself. Slow can be fast. Fast can be slow. Make haste. Have a sense of urgency, but never rush people through their decisions.