The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-333 – Tobias Mews – 50 Bucket List Races
(Audio: link)
[audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4333.mp3]
Link epi4333.mp3
Team Hoyt Boston 2016 Campaign -> https://www.crowdrise.com/teamhoytbostonmarath/fundraiser/christopherrussell
MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks – http://www.marathonbq.com/qualify-for-the-boston-marathon-in-14-weeks/
Hello and welcome to episode 4-333 of the RunRunLive Podcast. Hello my friends. Welcome and thank you for taking the time to download this podcast and listen to it. You didn’t have to. There is plenty of content clamoring for your attention and for you to commit an hour of your time to listen to me is a great blessing. I thank you.
This podcast has changed over the years. The current version is the 4th iteration. Some of you listen for the running tips of a seasoned marathoner. Others to get some business or life advice from a seasoned, well, guy. Some may just like the sound and music of my readings. Whatever camp you fall into I work to create something of value. My goal is that you can take away one nugget, one thought, one learning or one thing to try.
I know you do your best. You’re always trying to do what’s right in this world. This is our time to talk. You’ve worked hard. Sit back and let me talk awhile. Listen to some ideas and I’ll give you the best I can with the time I have and resources at my disposal. OK?
Today I interview Tobias Mews – Isn’t that a melodic name? – Tobias has written a book about 50 races that you just have to run! It’s his ‘best of’ list from his years of being an endurance sports journalist. He’s a fun guy and we have a great talk. We actually talked for over an hour because he was pumping me with questions about what I do – I don’t think he could wrap his head around the fact that this is all just a hobby for me.
In the first section we’ll talk about some things to consider running when it is super-cold out. In section two I’m going to wax poetically about a certain local, intellectual vagabond.
My training, I’m pleased to say is going great. A little bit more than a month out from Boston and I feel pretty strong. My heart is right in the groove. My legs are coming around and my fitness seems to be good.
Coach has transitioned me from base-building to race specific strength and fitness. I capped off a 50 mile week Sunday Morning with a nice 20 miler with some race pace in it. It was 2:45 with 1:30 of MP in the middle. Good run. Did a long step up run the previous Tuesday where I was in the mid 7’s for most of the tempo part. Did a set of 10 hill charges on Friday and my form and leg strength was good.
So – yeah, feeling strong. Looking forward to Boston. This time last year I couldn’t even race!
…
One of the things about me, that I’m sure you’ve noticed, is that I have a lot of different interests. Philosophically I’m ok with this and I call it my portfolio life. Frankly, those times in my life where I’ve been squeezed into working on one topic make me nervous and sad. Working on, thinking about and creating different things makes me happy.
The challenge is that you spread yourself too thin. You never actually get anything done. You eventually get to the point where you have so many irons in the fire you just sit and shake. Another thing I find is when things get hard I immediately come up with one or two or three new projects that I want to work on instead of the ones I haven’t finished.
This crops up for me when I’m not traveling. When I’m on the road and I’m engaged and working I don’t have time to think about what to do next. It’s obvious. When I’m confronted with too much free time – it ironically becomes a problem because I have to decide what to focus on and you can’t focus on everything.
To combat this I have adopted a couple of tactical practices that are different sides of the same theory.
First is the classic Pomodoro technique. The way I do it is I have my 2-3 top priority projects, and then a pile of other tasks. I’ll set the timer on my iPhone for 20 minutes and work non-stop, without interruption on a project until the timer goes off. Then, I’ll switch to the next project or set of tasks or maybe take a break. In this way I’m constantly rotating through productive work, making progress on everything and not getting bored or distracted.
The other thing I do is I’ve identified the 1-2 major enabling projects in each of the portfolio areas and my rule is, no matter how long it takes, no matter how hard it is, I finish that project before I can load another one (no matter how cool and sexy it is) into the queue. This allows me to focus energy and resources and not get discouraged. I give myself permission to fail at these projects but only when I finish them!
What’s an example? I had this great idea to create a webinar series for the Boston Marathon this year as a charity thing for my Hoyt fund. I had a few other podcasts and books that I have ideas for too. But I’m not allowed to work on them until I finish the two projects I’m working on right now, which are automating the RunRunLive podcast production and redoing the RunRunLive website.
So there’s your nugget for today. It’s ok to have a lot going on, but you have to focus on something to get anything of substance done.
On with the Show!
Section one – Running Tips
Running in the super-cold – https://runrunlive.com/running-in-the-super-cold
Voices of reason – the conversation
Tobias Mews
Tobias Mews
Adventure Journalist & Athlete
Mews Media Ltd
http://www.tobiasmews.com/about/
How to begin? It’s not only the hardest part for a journalist, but also incredibly hard for me to describe what I do.
I call myself an adventure journalist – a title founded on the principal that I write about the great outdoors and adventure sports. But I’m so much more than that: I could also call myself an author, motivational speaker, consultant, copywriter, blogger, video journalist, filmmaker, TV presenter and producer. But I think adventure journalist best sums up what I do.
However, I also refer to myself as an adventure athlete – which essentially means that I compete in adventurous endurance challenges – whether that be tackling the world’s toughest ironman distance triathlon, running ultra marathons around Mont Blanc, cycling the length and breadth of the country or swim running across islands in Sweden’s Archipelago.
Indeed, I could argue that I have a symbiotic relationship between my career as an adventure journalist and that as an elite level adventure athlete. One can’t live without the other. A curse and a blessing when the line between hobby and career become blurred.
But it means that I write with passion and enthusiasm for my subject – which essentially involves getting out of my comfort zone and exploring the world through adventure sports. And most importantly, I rarely write about anything I’ve not experienced.
Section two
In the footsteps of Thoreau on Cape Cod- https://runrunlive.com/cape-cod
Outro –
Closing comments
MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks – http://www.marathonbq.com/qualify-for-the-boston-marathon-in-14-weeks/
Ok my friends, reset your 20 minute timer because the task of ‘listening to the RunRunLive Podcast is done – check the box next to Episode 4-333.
Like I said in the intro I’m trying to offload a bunch of podcast tasks to save time. I really love the global internet economy. I have my guy in India who I’m training to be my production assistant. I have a guy in Moscow I’m training to do the interview edits. If I can pull it off all I’ll have to do is create and record the content and the rest will get done auto-magically. That’s the theory anyhow. If I can offload that stuff I can focus on creating content.
I’m also going to re-do my website and install a membership option. Hopefully I can find a way to pay for all this and still get you the content without having to do ads. Because I hate ads.
I’m full on training for Boston now. And also getting into the short strokes on setting up the Groton Road race. 25th anniversary year for the race. Come up and join us. It’s going to be special.
I’d like to thank all my friends who have contributed to my Team Hoyt fund for Boston. I can still use your help if you can – I would appreciate it.
I’m frankly quite surprised that no one has come forward to run the Grand Canyon with me on Thursday May 19th. My plan is to sleep somewhere around Sedona then drive up in the early morning to the South Rim and run down the Bright Angel Trail to the Phantom ranch and back up. Worst case it will take 8-10 hours and I’m in no hurry – so think about it – shoot me an email and we’ll have some fun.
…
These are some interesting times we live in. The promise of freedom and longevity for large portions of the world. The expansion of science into unknown realms. The understanding of history and archeology and the universe. We live in amazing times. I am very grateful to live in these times.
There is no need for any of us to pull down others. It does not increase our prosperity to persecute others. There is no easy button where all the hard problems go away and the world becomes some neat reality TV show for you to change the channel on.
The world we live in is amazing – but it is chaos. There are no easy answers. Everything is shades of grey. That makes people crazy. That makes people uncomfortable.
So when the charlatans come with their easy answers it is too easy. We don’t realize what we are sacrificing. There are no easy answers. When you side with the anti-intellectual herd you give up more than you realize. You give up your ability to think for yourself, to think about hard problems with many different facets to them.
You give up your freedom. Don’t make the easy choices to run with the herd and follow the pied pipers. Make the choice to think for yourself. I know it’s hard but you can do it. We can do it.
Do the right thing – and l’ll see you out there.
MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks – http://www.marathonbq.com/qualify-for-the-boston-marathon-in-14-weeks/