The RunRunLive Podcast Episode 158 – Operation Jack FUP
[audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi158.mp3|titles=Episode 158 – Operation Jack]
Show intro by:
Joe M…http://joerunfordom.wordpress.com/
Intro:
Hello and welcome to the RunRunLive Podcast. Where we are struggling through a February slump of sorts. We are podcasting to you from beneath 4 feet of snow and it just keeps coming! Buddy and I – WE’VE GOT CABIN FEVER!
Cabin Fever clip
Seriously. I have been struggling to get my workouts in. I missed two last week and another two this week and I’m starting to wonder about my sanity.
We got another snow storm Tuesday and Wednesday. After each of these storms I’ve gone out and shoveled a loop for Buddy to run in out in the front yard. It is now a serious trench. When Buddy the wonder dog goes into it, I lose sight of him. He can’t see over the edges.
The good news is he can’t escape from the yard and roam the neighborhood like he usually does when he gets cabin fever. When he tries to leave the trench he just post-holes up to his armpits and is immobilized.
I was all psyched up to do my Tuesday 14 mile progression run on the treadmill at work. I had it all planned out. I had my bag in hand. I was going to spend a couple hours in the gym, let the traffic clear and then mosey on home from the office in the snow storm. Then the phone rings. It’s Mrs. RunRunLive and she informs me that she has driven off the driveway into the snow bank and is stuck. Work out scuttled.
Then Wednesday I was just going to take fur boy out for a snow shoe, but after moving snow for over four hours I just didn’t want to go out again. I’ve got CABIN FEVER. Buddy’s got cabin fever, we’ve got cabin fever.
We have a fantastic show for you today. Thanks to Iron Brandon for the blog reading – good stuff. We also have Eddie Marathon doing a reading and an interview with Sam, better known as Operation Jack who talks about his trials and tribulations of running 61 marathons last year.
I have the Hyannis ½ in a couple weeks and then only 12 short weeks to Boston. Things are moving along at quite the rapid clip here this spring. I’m not sure if I have a sub 1:30 half in me, but I’m going to put a final push on.
Let’s go! On with the Show!
Audio clips in this episode:
Allstate Havoc GPS commercial
The Muppets “Cabin Fever” from the Treasure Island movie.
Reading by Eddie Marathon http://eddiemarathon.blogspot.com/
Blog Reading by Iron Brandon http://brandonsmarathon.com/
Skits, commercials and parodies in this episode:
Story time:
Equipment Check:
Ten secrets to successful running
@Edmarathon
Intro: this is… you can find me at… where I …
We are on the home stretch of “the 10 secrets to a long, healthy successful running life”.
This week we cover Secret #7 – The power of persistence.
Let’s review –
Week one was committing to hold yourself accountable.
Week two was aligning your running with what is important to you.
Week three was the importance of taking action.
Week four was the old story about setting goals
Week five was how to create a good plan.
Week six was paying the price.
This week we are going to talk about persistence. Persistence is a common attribute across the board of successful people and the same is true of runners and running. There is not one entrepreneur that I have spoken with that did not demonstrate the power of persistence.
The ability to stick with something, to persevere, to conquer even when everyone and everything says you should quit. This is the ability of leaders and heroes and successful people of all ilk.
Why is perseverance and persistence so important? Because worthwhile goals do not come easily.
Stay with it and it will come. It is like an onion each time you peel away a layer you learn something and you grow, and get better each time. It’s always easier to give up, but you will set yourself apart by being persistent.
Persistence sounds heroic. Like the general inspiring his troops at the crucial moment to turn the tide of battle when all seemed lost. But, most of the time, especially in running persistence is boring and mundane.
Persistence is about getting your shoes on and getting out the door when it’s raining and you don’t want to. 99% of persistence is just showing up. If you can show up enough you start to build a habit of doing and each successful action builds positive momentum over non-action. It’s ok to go through the motions once in awhile to keep your momentum going. It is these episodes of mundane persistence that pay off in the long run.
Sometimes we get so afraid we fail to hold the line and run away. Sometimes we are afraid of failing when things get hard and sometimes we are afraid of succeeding as that goal actually comes into view. Our big brains can over think the very process of forward movement. It is in these times that we persevere and good things happen because we break through barriers.
If you have gone through the first 6 secrets you have some goals and you have a plan. You know why you are doing it and you are accountable. You are taking action and you are paying the price. Even with all that behind you it will still get hard and you will have to persevere.
Perseverance will come into play if you are just starting because you will have to stay with the program long enough to build the habit of running. If you can build the habit you will then have to persevere to the point where, one day, like a bright light from heaven, it will all of a sudden be joyous and you won’t be able to live without it.
If you are cranking it up to the next level you are going to have to spend some time holding the pace even when it is uncomfortable. It will never get easy to close the last ½ of a 1600 meter speed work out – but it will get good.
And along the way, you will fail. You will slip. You will fall and you will get injured and depressed. But, you will persevere and in your perseverance emerge stronger in body, mind and character.
What are some ways to make perseverance easier? Look for role models to emulate. Visualize the rapid strides of Bernard Lagat or Ryan Hall or Paula Radcliffe. Encourage yourself – remind yourself that you can do it and that you will do it. Find others in your life to remind you too.
Most people give up on the marathon in the last 6 miles. Why? You’re almost there. Call life’s bluff. Hang in there and persevere. Persistence is one thing that you can control. Stick with it even after it gets hard. This last little bit, where it gets hard and you want to give up, this is the part that will have the greatest payoff for you if you can persevere.
Next week – secret # 8 – Self confidence and the power of believing in yourself.
Featured Interview:
Operation Jack http://www.operationjack.org/
Operation Jack will be an attempt by Sam Felsenfeld to race at least one marathon a week in 2010 (61 total for the year) to generate attention that will raise funds and nationwide awareness for Train 4 Autism, an organization that works tirelessly to raise money for Autism charities.
Sam, with his wife of 11 years, Tiffany, is raising three children — Benjamin (9), Jack (6 1/2) and Ava (4 1/2). Jack, born September 16, 2003, was diagnosed with autism shortly after he turned 3, although he has been in constant therapy and treatment since before his second birthday. He is showing signs of progress, but has very limited speech and struggles with communication and social interaction.
After watching his son struggle day after day with his condition, Sam decided he wanted to do something to make a difference in his honor. His plan is Operation Jack. If Operation Jack succeeds, Train 4 Autism will grow and countless people living with autism — along with their relatives and friends — will benefit for years to come.
Achieving the unthinkable would be nothing new for Sam. After breaking his neck in a swimming-pool accident when he was 16, he was lucky to have use of his legs. Later, after taking terrible care of himself in college, his weight soared to 261 pounds. A former smoker, Sam started walking less than five years ago. Walking turned into slow jogging, and eventually, slow jogging turned into his first marathon.
Now, he’s completed 70 marathons and four ultramarathons, and has 24 Boston qualifiers and a personal-best time of 3:00:05. He knows that if he was able to work hard enough to complete this transformation, he can work hard enough to run 61 marathons in Jack’s honor. And he knows that as tough as Operation Jack might be, it’s nothing compared to the daily grind Jack suffers through as he battles the nasty neurological disorder he was born with.
You don’t have to run 60 marathons in one year to make a difference – every participant increases awareness of Train 4 Autism and there’s no contribution required. So, pick a race — there’s 60 of them — and join Sam to take part in Operation Jack!
Quick Tip:
My quick tip for y’all today is on this crazy winter weather. And I know you folks in Sydney, Johanisburg and Florida are either laughing at me or sick of my whining…but, I had someone ask me how to keep running when it is close to impossible to run outside right now in many places.
As in all these things I think the more you can understand what is happening to your brain and your body the better you’ll be able to deal with it.
So – Dr. Mad Dog, what are the symptoms of cabin fever? Thank you for asking. My symptoms include getting depressed, overeating for comfort, and needing way more sleep than normal…kind of like being a teenager again without the libido. Luckily for me I don’t drink or smoke or anything else like that, but I can see people turning to the drink during episodes of cabin fever.
What’s the problem Dr. Mad Dog?
Well you’re not getting enough sunlight and you’re spending too much time inside. And the roads are covered with ice and snow. And the daylight hours are short. The snow banks make running a dangerous contact sport with the motorists. Get the picture? It’s a spiraling cycle of needing to get out and not being able to get out and just getting depressed!
So what do we do Dr. Mad Dog?
Well – You have to take the long view. A couple weeks of crappy training isn’t going to kill you and probably won’t even affect your target race. Get used to running on the treadmill – it gets easier as you get used to it.
But, Dr. Mad Dog my training program is peaking and I need follow my plan!
Ok – dude – relax, you can do a snow shoe, or drag the kiddies in a sled and there is some aerobic benefit to shoveling for 4 hours. Take the dog or the kids for a long walk. Just get some activity in and try to get outside into the sunlight. Training is very specific but, whether you like it or not there is no place for you to run a 14 mile tempo run on the roads right now so you are going to have to broaden your horizons a little.
Folks – don’t tie yourselves up in knots getting cabin fever – just do your best, try to get out and the crocus will be pushing up through the sod before you know it.
Outro:
That’s it my cabin-mates you have suffered through the chills and hallucinations of another episode of the Cabin-Fever-RunRunLive Podcast – episode 158 in the can.
I’ve got Danny Abshire from Newton on tap for next week. Plenty of great stuff to talk about. If you have written what you think to be a wonderful blog post read it for us. We love that.
…
I noticed this week as my training has slacked and my weight has gone up that the specter of that Hyannis marathon is looming large over my head. Little voices in my head are saying things like “well I’m not really that into this race” and “It’s not that important…” Basically setting me up to fail. And worse to make me feel ok about failing. To decide to fail ahead of time so it won’t hurt so much when I do.
What is this? I had a great race a Derry. Why can’t I take that momentum and build on it? I’m in the best shape of the last decade – why the sudden slump in my inner game?
Is it a fear of failure? Maybe.
My friend Brian the ‘Silent Assassin’ who has been doing my long runs with me this month cut right through the crap. He said “Maybe you just don’t think you can do it.” Which is really the nut of it. Somewhere deep in my brain I don’t think I can. And because I don’t think I can, well then it becomes a fait accompli.
Could it be more sinister? Could it be a fear of success? How often do we start to disassemble as we get close to a goal? How often do we start to subtly sabotage? It’s almost as if I would rather lose by 100 points than have it go into double overtime and lose by 1.
Am I strong enough to handle the fact the failure is not important and that even more so success is not important either? It is the process, the trip.
And that makes me angry because I don’t mind failing, In fact I try to set challenging goals that I will fail at 50% of the time, but I hate it when I fail by not giving my best. To quote Yoda “there is no try, there is only do or do not”
I have caught myself trying to mail this one in and it ticks me off. I promise to focus. I promise lose the weight and put in the quality miles and not move on to the next goal until this one is finished.
Let the chips fall where they may.
And I’ll see you out there.
All the music in today’s show is by The Lordz, a super punk band out of NY and it was gathered from the podsafe music network at music alley. I’m an Outlaw Baby! You aint never gonna bring me down!
Ciao,
Music:
From Podsafe
the_lordz-back_up
the_lordz-outlaw_-_featuring_tim_armstrong_from_rancid
the_lordz-uh_oh
Standard Links:
www.midpackerslament.com
Cyktrussell At gmail and twitter and facebook and youtube
Chris’ book on Amazon – > http://www.amazon.com/Mid-Packers-Lament-collection-running-stories/dp/141961584X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228687012&sr=8-1
Mid-Packer’s Lament E-book
Mid-Packer’s Guide to the Galaxy E-Book
Dial in number for RunRunLive is – 206-339-7804
Chris Russell lives and trains in suburban Massachusetts with his family and Border collie Buddy. Chris is the author of “The Mid-Packer’s Lament”, and “The Mid-Packer’s Guide to the Galaxy”, short stories on running, racing, and the human comedy of the mid-pack. Chris writes the Runnerati Blog at www.runnerati.com. Chris’ Podcast, RunRunLive is available on iTunes and at www.runrunlive.com. Chris also writes for CoolRunning.com (Active.com) and is a member of the Squannacook River Runners and the Goon Squad.
Email me at cyktrussell at Gmail dot com
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