Success by Any Measure

I successfully ran my first marathon today, and I feel tremendous about it.  Except perhaps for some general fatigue and the fact my legs are beyond stiff and sore.  But that's the bounty I earned today and I'm even relishing that.

I enjoyed the effort - ok, not all the effort as it was really cold - but that was secondary to how I felt. I learned a number of things about myself this weekend, this summer really, and I'll share them as I'd like to encourage you to reach outside your own comfort zone to get the same insights into yourself.

First off, let me say I'm not a natural runner. You know those lithe people that seem to glide over the ground and don't sweat when moving along - reincarnated gazelles or something like that. Well, I'm not one of those, so running is lots of work for me, as it is for many others.  I have to push for every step.  With that in mind here's a few things I learned today:

1. I can keep pushing myself - through pain, discomfort and even the tedium of long practice runs.  That tells me I can do that in other parts of my life too.
2. I never thought about quitting, in fact there was never a question of it. I took 4hours and 50mins today in 3-6 degrees celsius and I sang out loud through the last 40mins. Doubt trips us up, and while it takes more than a positive attitude to succeed, it's always good to have.
3. I ran with 2 other incredible people for the first 28kms, and we joked and laughed.  Humour and camaraderie and shared suffering help me outside of my head and I've got great memories of our time together today as a result. 
4. I drew energy from the crowds that were positive, supportive and all over.  I was never alone. I 'high-fived' little kids and countless strangers and it meant a huge amount to me that they were there. Never forget your cheering section as they are a powerful motivating force.
5. A running support visit from my wife in the last 1.5kms totally revved me up. I tripled my speed and had energy to spare.  Her conscious effort to come to where I was allowed me to access an energy source I didn't know I had.  Love and support is incredible to help us achieve what we might think is beyond our abilities.

As I sit here at the end of this day, still humming from the work involved and a general glow of accomplishment, I do have to wonder a little.  While I hadn't ever intended to run a marathon, I found it to be a unique test and I'm very glad to have done it.  I understand enough about myself that I was willing to try and fail - to have quit, and thrown in the towel that I couldn't do it. And I did it anyway, aiming for success, but knowing I could reach my own breaking point. The knowledge that it would have been ok to fail was strangely free-ing, it was no longer an option once I had de-fanged it. That is probably the most important thing I learned today on that long straight road. 

To Dare Greatly and Fail

I'm a fan of Brene Brown and her popularization of Teddy Roosevelt's 1923 Speech, where he captures the idea of daring greatly..
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Brene Brown wrote a book and arguably started a movement about this, and there's a specific idea in here I really admire: The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again..and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.  To put yourself out there, and try knowing you may well fail - that's a romantic concept I appreciate - it's the seeds of greatness.  I grew up on the philosophy of Yoda - "There is no try, there is only do, or do not" and I think the little green guy was wrong here actually.  You have to try, and take the leap sometimes. At worst you fail, but then the very act of trying was still worth doing, because it's important to understand enough about yourself that you're willing to fail - and have tried nonetheless.

Marathon

"Whether you think you can, or you can't, you're probably right" 

- Henry Ford

You probably know the story of the first famous long distance runner who delivered a message of battle success against the Persians, and raced from Marathon to Athens, running all 26miles / 42kilometers.   And then promptly died on the spot. Happily mortality rates from marathons have dramatically improved since then, but they are still held as a true test of fitness and stamina.

My own first marathon is in a week, and I'm finding that Mr. Ford's observation rings true. While it's a run, the reality of the effort is that it'll be done mostly between my ears. Running a marathon will take somewhere between 3.5 and 5 hours  - I'm not Kenyan - and in that time there will be emotional highs and lows. Dealing with fatigue, various types of pain and watching others both pass me, and crumble by the road-side will be a fascinating experience.  Having done a number of half marathons, I expect it to be a larger, more evocative day, but not new.

You see in many ways, the marathon is going to be an anti-climax to the whole effort that began months ago when a coupe of us elected to try for the marathon.  A structured four month preparation program began then, and it was undertaken because none of us underestimated what this would take. We've run long, we ran in high heat, we ran in the rain.  We ran and ran and ran, and then ran again the next day.  Long slow practices had us go well north of 30kms, and there was a long time period when every run was a new personal distance record.  It got to the point when doing 'only' a half marathon felt like an easy day.  Distance blends, and you share in each other's resolve and challenges alike.  I know I've run close to 600kms since May, so in that sense, another 42 ought to be easy.  Or maybe not.

Whichever way next week goes, I'll know I can do it, I know that I'm able to do it.  Because regardless what happens in the spandex and nike-clad throngs that will fill the race course next week, I did it on empty back roads over the course of this long summer, when the motivation didn't come in the form of timing chips, finishing medals and cheering crowds - it came from within and knowledge that the commitment to do hard things is really all it takes.

Heroes

Hero's as in "who is yours?" has been on my mind of late.  As kids we're often asked this question, but not so much as adults.  Which is a shame really, as heroes have a real aspirational benefit for each of us I believe.  If your hero is still "Superman" then that's ok, but I think I have a slightly different point to make.

A hero is someone you look up to, someone you want to emulate, and aspire to be more like.  It makes sense when we're kids to look at real or imaginary adults, but as we grow older do you look up to a moral leader, a capabilities leader, a spiritual guide or perhaps a sports or business icon.  Everyone can make their own choices here of course, though I'd suggest it does tell us a little about the person to understand who their own hero is.

I'd like to make an alternative suggestion to our hero choices, and that's the you should aim to be your own hero.  We may all be average people (somebody has to be), but aiming to impress yourself, to really think highly of something you've been able to do, or are challenging yourself to do - let's all aim for heroism from ourselves.  There is no one more important to try to impress.

Japan

...has always fascinated me.  I've been on business a few times, always to Tokyo, though once spent six memorable hours in Kansai  - Osaka's airport - in the middle of the night with my family (incl. two toddlers) after our Cathay Pacific flight needed to unexpectedly stop for fuel enroute from LA.

Japan is the Switzerland of the east - so well run, so efficient and just as picturesque.  From Fuji's iconic silhouette and the cheery blossoms in spring, to the hustle and bustle of Shibuya in downtown Tokyo.  Bullet trains to zen-filled shrines and temples, Japan is magical.

Which is why I've always wanted to spend some time there, get off the grid a little and get to know it more.  So that's what the next few weeks have in store for me and number one son.  I envision getting lost, confused, filled with mind-blowing sushi and sashimi, and various other delicacies we won't be aware of.  Plans including climbing the mountain above, getting to see the Hiroshima Carp in Mazda "Zoom-Zoom" Stadium (best stadium name ever? - I think so) , and sleeping on the floors in many rural inns.

To quote James Bond from You Only Live Twice (the one where he goes undercover in a Japanese fishing village)  and they notice his chest hair "Bird never make nest in bare tree." Japan is anything but a bare tree to me.

Oops

I think I've made a judgement error.  I've elected to join something and it's not turning out the way I'd wanted.  Which sucks.  But, life goes on I guess.

Despite my professional training, I'm wondering if I should linger to see if it gets better, or just depart on whatever terms can be salvaged.

When I made this choice, I knew it could go either way.  But it's still unfortunate.

At times like this, I ask myself if one of my kids came to me with this very situation, what would I tell them... and the answer is that we learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes.

Some days I really hate learning.

My Apple Watch Experience

I've had the little black watch now for 7 weeks, and for those that like their headlines right up front, I really enjoy it.

I admittedly had a defined use-case up front - I wanted an activity tracker, a watch that could help me with running feedback, and my old watch had experienced an issue that made it unwearable.

The fact that the balance of the interactions would be smart, and I'd get to mess with haptic feedback were all bonuses.

It hasn't disappointed.  The running app is integrated and seems to work well, tracking distances and heart rate to offer a number of mathematically derived conclusions such as pace, caloric burn and so on.  The activity tracker actually does motivate me to get up and to move.  Not a bad thing and it's not really a nag, at least not yet.

The most pleasant surprise has been that my phone stays in my pocket significantly more than it used to.   I heard a characterization of the various types of tech interactions we have using engagement time as the variable. For most things we interact with - the silly emails we all get, the notifications on sports or news that flash up, the watch is perfect for the 2 second glance and dismissal those things deserve.  For slightly more complex engagements, a longer work email to respond to or create, or a website I need to review then the phone is still the best tool with it's deeper interface.  For significantly larger efforts than we revert to laptops to write a paper, do research or capture a spreadsheet meaningfully.  The watch therefore addresses a need I unconsciously had, and for that I've enjoyed it.

There are some nice little things about that exceed expectations too.  It's really very water resistant. I've not swam with it, but it's been soaked numerous times. The haptic feedback when your wrist is tapped is an interesting new way to get involved with your world, and the build quality seems very high, as you'd expect from an Apple product.  Not everything's fantastic - it's much more a slave to the iPhone than I understood initially, and while the battery is good for a day and a half for me, it'd be nice to have it last longer.

I'm sold on the concept of wearables now though.  More so than a laptop, and more so than a phone the form, function and interface are crucial.  The watch seems to me to be the most personal of all the little digital world toys.  I know I'd have a very small tolerance for one of these done poorly, but this one is good and will only get better.