Running and the Price of Excellence

Running is one of the great sources of enjoyment in my life. No matter the length, a run always has the power to center me and clarify my world. I especially love running marathons. This as led people to constantly ask me why I put myself through such torture. I've never been able to give people a straight answer and even when I try I usually change a month later. And yesterday I found this months reason I run. 

This winter/spring I am training to break 3-hours in the marathon. It has always been my gold-standard in the event. To break it however, it involves taking your training to a whole new level. No longer can I just do a daily six mile run with a speed workout thrown in once week. I am doing tempo, pace, and yasso runs. All while spending my Saturdays running 15 to 20 miles in the cold, windy Ohio winter. 

The weather kind of broke yesterday. A winter storm was rolling in (we got 6" last night) and pushed some warm air in front of it. It was 39 with very little wind. I decided to go to Jesse Owens Stadium and run around the Ohio State track. The workout was incredibly tough but it felt easier the week before when I ran around the same track but with the weather being 35, windy and rainy. I finished the workout and started to walk out of the stadium to do my 2-mile cooldown across campus.

That's when I saw a quote from Jesse Owens. A quote I had probably read a few dozen time but never truly understood until that moment. It read "We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort." That's when I realized why I love running. It is a constant reminder of what it requires to be excellent. 

In running, as anything in life, you can be average with very little work. If you just want to earn a paycheck at your job, then do what is expected. If you want an average marriage, then put in just enough effort so the other person doesn't leave. As I said above, I was able to put in very easy weeks and actually be an above average marathoner. I have run the Boston Marathon twice and have qualified about half a dozen times. Those easy weeks are a double edged sword. You are walking a fine line between faking greatness and being exposed. And trust me I have been exposed more then a few times. I have done too little training and had the world see that I was just faking being in shape when I had to walk the last miles of a marathon. Run/walking to the end of a marathon and having dozens of people pass you by is very humbling experience. The same can be happen when try to be average in your career, marriage or any other aspect of your life. 

Some things it can okay to be average. I shoot pool every week in a pool league. If always average at that, then I really won't be to hard on myself. I do that and several other things in my life just for fun. However, to get to that next level in the important things in life, you have to put in a whole lot of effort. That is what this new training scheduling is teaching me. Excellent just happen by accident. You have to get up every morning focused on what you want to achieve. If I want to break three hours, then I need to  wake up with no doubt to my run for the day will get done. Do you want to be the very best at your job? Go out fix that problem no one else was willing to try and fix. Are you not happy in your marriage? Then put every ounce of energy into fixing it.

The world has convinced us that greatness is a gift reserved for a chosen few (thank you +Nike). But it is not. And it does not require you to be seen on television or the internet. To be great or excellent, you have to get up every morning and put all your energy into the things that matter to you. That is why I love running. Where in some aspects of your life you can easily forget what it takes to be great in life, running will never allow you that opportunity. If you forget what it takes to be excellent without putting in the effort, then when you try to be excellent on race day the course will chew you up and spit you out. Very little other aspects of life have a "race day" so it is very hard to see when you are not being great. 

Hopefully, I never forget the words of Jesse Owens and use his wisdom in all aspects of my life.