The Top Ten Running and Life Tips – in no particular order
- Stay hydrated. Drink lots of water and energy drinks. Drink the night before a run, during a run and after a run – it’s pretty simple. In Life, drinks lots of water and healthy drinks also (and occasional good wine does not hurt!).
- Eat well. Eat good stuff before your training or race-day. Get your body accustomed to certain foods that you can digest easily (granola bars or toast or muffins or bagels). Have some foods that you can eat along the way of long runs – it may be fruit/nuts/chocolate or goo or anything else your body can tolerate. In Life – same thing, eat well and occasional errant meals are ok!
- Dress well. Find some running outfits that you feel good in and feel like you can fun fast. Adjust after one year when you find that styles change or your own tastes have changed. Get great colors and textures that make you feel happy when you put it on. Ditto for everyday life – it’s too short to wear cheap clothes.
- Make goals, write them down. If you keep a training log, you can see how much you progress with your times and distance and it’s a great motivator to see you you’ve done over a period of weeks. I – and others I know do the same – we make yearly goals and we check them to see how we’ve done. No goals = No plan.
- Enjoy many moments. I used to say Enjoy every moment, but that is just too damn unrealistic! During your training runs or races, burn into your skull those special minutes when the birds are singing, the sun is shining, your feet are flying and everything is effortless.
Remember those moments in your life also, because they don’t come around all the time. - Be competitive. It sounds counter-intuitive to have fun and to be deeply competitive, but it’s OK to want to beat 20-somethings, or your best time, or other people or to win the race. In life, it is all about winning, whatever the race is – just don’t climb over anyone to do it!
- Overcome the bad times. In any run, there will be times where you will feel desperate and discouraged and not want to continue. Embrace that moment and let it power you through to the finish. Take for granted that there will always be great challenges and if there were not, none of us would be satisfied with our performance. Peaks and Valleys, Valleys and Peaks.
- Always have a good soundtrack. Find those songs that inspire you for your runs. Make playlists with top new and old songs that have the right beat to drive those feet. Mix it up and know that when a certain song comes on, how much it will motivate you. Think of life with a soundtrack of songs that have played during the best times of your life.
- Enjoy with yourself, enjoy with friends. Really savor the moments of running by yourself with no one else there to disturb you – and enjoy the moments with special friends and running companions where the talking or no talking is a way of carrying you both forward. Find friends that motivate you, not disappoint you – that run just a little faster than you and keep you to the ultimate goal. Have life friends that celebrate your successes and emphasize with your bad days.
- Don’t take any of it too seriously. “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” Neither a braggard nor a blowhard you shall be. None of us get out of this alive, but we can have a kick-ass time while we’re out here. Challenge yourself, beat your best times, but don’t get too worried on those days when it’s hard to get out of bed. Some days the feet move better and some days they feel like lead. Its ok, put on a smile and carry-on. During the worst moments, think what a great story it will make later!!!!
