FEATURE STORY
> big challenge, start the journey by taking that first small step, and then another, and another, moving ultimately to that giant leap forward
4. GIVE YOURSELF REASONS TO SUCCEED The bolder the plan, the more adversity we will face. While I was clear about the upside of taking this challenge on, I needed to tilt the odds with a little karmic magic and committed myself to raise $ 25,000 for charity. As the long hours of brutal training took its toll, ultimately culminating in injury, my resolve weakened. Seeing my goal start to slip away, I decided I had had enough and called it quits. The next day, I received a large and unexpected sponsorship donation. It was like a wake-up call, and it reignited my commitment to my goal.
Once in the desert, I started blogging to raise more funds, resulting in a slew of supportive emails from family, friends, and strangers. Every time that pain hit me and I contemplated quitting, I focused on those emails and found the strength to continue. Having a cause helped tether my actions to a higher purpose. Running, like many of life’ s activities, can make you feel extremely isolated. Running to benefit others, however, does not. To combat adversity, invent a purpose and grow your own wings.
5. SOLICIT HELP, BUT NOT TOO MUCH After signing up to run the Gobi, I began to solicit help in preparing for the race from those closest to me. Before I knew it, many others started to offer their thoughts, opinions, and advice. All of a sudden, everyone was deemed an expert on how to run a desert marathon. It rapidly got to be too much. I had too many chefs in my kitchen!
One of the first actions you should work on when taking on a major endeavor is to get oriented and build a plan. Getting oriented requires the assistance of others, and the challenge is to know when we have enough data points to create the blueprint. Too little information results in an ill-conceived plan, while too much may result in a state of paralysis and inaction. The desert was the perfect leadership metaphor. I needed to collaborate with others, but I would ultimately face this challenge alone. I heard and considered others’ opinions, but I decided on my own course of action. In the final analysis, there is only one chef in your life’ s kitchen and that chef is you.
6. FIRST, TRAIN YOUR ATTITUDE When facing a challenge, we typically dedicate the majority of our time to acquiring a new skill rather than training our attitude so that the new skill can flourish. After signing up for the Gobi, the best advice I got was that it was more mental than physical. That simple statement would drive everything I did.
YES, I HAD TO LEARN TO RUN, BUT IN THE END I WOULD HAVE TO RELY ON MY MIND TO FINISH.
Since it was the middle of winter, I couldn’ t simulate running in the hot desert. Instead, I decided to train my attitude by only running when I didn’ t want to.
I ran at midnight, after a meal when I felt full, during storms and blizzards, when I was sick, and whenever my inner voice said,“ I don’ t feel like it.” If it was a beautiful sunny day, I did not run but did strength training instead. My training miles would add up to less distance than for the average Gobi runner, but every time I ran, I built the resources required to deal with the severe conditions of the desert.
7. CEMENT NEW HABITS Completing the ultra-marathon was certainly a challenge, but it wasn’ t anywhere near as demanding as completing the training. Although I was committed to my promise, I needed a strategy to anchor new daily training habits and to keep myself focused— especially when I was aching, busy, or simply didn’ t feel like running.
Early on, I developed tactics like leaving my running shoes next to my bed exactly where my feet would touch the floor when I woke up, or even going to bed wearing my running gear. I created small reminders to think proactively about the training, such as writing“ Gobi” on the bathroom mirror or adding Gobi reminders to my calendar.
Although the conventional wisdom says it takes twenty-one days to create a new habit, our old habits are so deeply ingrained that changing them isn’ t so simple. In order to make a new habit stick, it’ s best to create strategies to help stay the course until we naturally derive so much benefit from the new habit that we adhere to it on our own. Only then can our intentions become cemented into lasting new habits.
8. ADD LEVITY TO YOUR LOAD Taking on a difficult project will bring its share of ups and downs. To get to the finish line fast, it is imperative to rapidly bounce back from the downs to minimize the loss of momentum. Although counter-intuitive, sometimes we need to increase our burden in order to lighten it up.
As I prepared to race the Gobi, I became obsessed with what I would carry with me as part of my 20- to 25-pound allotment. I discovered that maximizing output is more than just a numbers game. For instance, running the Gobi taught me how small luxuries can lead to a better end result. Although bulky and heavy, I carried two bottles of champagne, totaling six pounds, and cigars so I could complete each day with a toast and invite teammates to my little desert party. Others carried such oddball items as homemade salamis or full dinnerware and a tablecloth to cement their own celebrations.
Is it“ best practice” to drink warm champagne and smoke cigars after running a marathon, especially knowing that these items add 25 percent more weight to your backpack? Of course not! However, if you are looking to bounce back after a tough day, then using counterintuitive tactics to add a dose of laughter to your challenge may actually help you spring forward.
9. LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS I started the Gobi just hoping to finish it, free of other expectations. On the fourth day, I was advised that I was leading the 40- to 49-year-old category. From that point on, I started to run not to lose. In doing so, I added a host of invisible baggage
18 | SPRING 2017