Running For Growth

Developing sustainable growth practices is a skill that takes time and effort. Forming good habits that stick and contribute to the best version of ourselves regardless of what environment, weather, or season we are in is a long game. 

Thinking back to a night at home when my mom was over, we sat to watch the documentary of Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was an inspiring story of grit and determination, a relentless pursuit of reinventing and reimagining different versions of success with failures to learn from along the way. One part of the story that had staying power in me was his recollection of the story of Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mount Everest. When Edmund was up on the top, they asked him, ‘What was it like being on top, and finally reaching this peak’. He said, ‘I looked around and saw another peak, and immediately started making a plan on how to climb that peak’.

I was excited to have the NYC United Half 2024 planned for the end of winter and experience a new course in the greatest running city in the world! With enthusiasm, I created my Abbott World Marathon Majors account, reached out to several tour operators to plan for my 2025 majors run, and continued to fundraise for Team Achilles in preparation for running on their team at this fall’s Chicago Bank of America Marathon. I planned these as stakes ahead to strive towards and keep my motive for self-growth alive. My sister recommended a podcast, Marathon Training Academy. They had a good lineup of guests and topics, including one about training for a spring marathon with the theme of consistency in our training being above all. Getting your workout runs in, the long runs, and always remember to give yourself enough time to avoid injury from too much, too soon.  They had good content on healthy eating habits, injuries, and one on about sustainable running. The hosts of the show themselves were preparing for the Tokyo marathon which is on my list to complete. They recently posted a recap podcast of the trip and shared great feedback for anyone planning on going to Tokyo in the future. It is a privilege to run in these marathons, see the host cities on full display, and learn about the different cultures.

There was one podcast that stuck out for me from author and former world-class runner, Tina Muir speaking about her new book; “Becoming A Sustainable Runner”. She spoke about how we should be running with self-compassion and not self-assessment. We can ruin the experience by not realizing the real benefits of sustainable running. It’s more valuable than our pace, medals, and personal records. It’s important to have goals and it’s more important to have meaning that is true to ourselves. It was right in line with how I came into this year. Throughout my journey of achieving one outdoor workout every day, I have not tracked miles or pace and have even had the pleasure of running with friends. My training was a simple formula because it was spread out over 10 weeks, sticking to the theme of consistency. I added one mile a week to my long runs consistently and at the pace that I was comfortable with. The training and conditioning were a part of my life, not controlling my life. Thank you, Tina! 

I incorporated yoga into my daily routine for stretching and ice-cold baths after my long runs to help with any inflammation. I visited a new fitness concept that intrigued me back when I ran the Downtown Brooklyn promenade last summer for marathon training. The place is called Recoverie. It’s a storefront focused on therapies for exercise enthusiasts to treat their soaring muscles in recovery stages. I went to do their compression therapy for my legs and contrast therapy from the sauna to the ice bath. It was a great place to go to during the winter, even for the freezing ice baths! It kept me refreshed and healthy throughout my training. Another part of my daily routine has been AG1, a supplement that is more supportive of my immune system and it helps with a daily boost of energy. I added Collagen for bone strength by taking Vital Protein Collagen Peptides. I am still drinking about a gallon of water a day and am mixing in my LMNT electrolyte-flavored powders! 

Training with resources available to you, constructive feedback from your circle, and a good plan with time to implement leaves race day as simple as showing up and your body kicking into a gear that it is conditioned for and doing the rest. Showing up is an adventure in itself in NYC! There is something about the day before a run, where your body knows it and it knocks you out. Even following all of the steps of my routine for my water intake and diet, I felt exhausted! It was a Saturday that started early with making wooden bird feeders at Lowe’s with the kids. That afternoon we took them to an Apple store session for making music and we enjoyed an early meal out with friends. I also ran the shakeout run with NYRR that Friday evening which was an enjoyable trail along Central Park down a soft dirt road from Columbus Circle out to the reservoir. I got great tips from the NYRR running coaches about the course, pacing, fueling, and more on their programs. It felt like a more intimate and personalized experience of the full NYC Marathon. The weather cooperated on the morning of and after an early morning stretch and fueling I was ready to launch off the starting line! 

It was a spectacular course and very scenic. We started with a straight shoot down Flatbush along the Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn and then into the park and back out at the Grand Army Plaza continuing down Flatbush right onto the picturesque Manhattan Bridge where I had to stop to take it in! Into Manhattan, through Chinatown, and onto the FDR where it flattened out and I began to take in full strides. I knew that my support group was in Times Square right before the final stretch to the finish line. On the FDR I went easy on the hills and harder where it was flat for most of that stretch. I was in tune with every step, mentally and physically and I am glad I was because I bumped right into my friend Drew from Team Achilles! What an experience to be able to relive my very first marathon in Philadelphia with a quick photo and a nice chat with Drew’s father. Good for Drew for continuing his journey of completing hard things. It’s a reinforcement of the inspiration that I get from running. Running up 42nd Street and into Times Square was a cool experience. I saw my sister and the birthday girl Valentina in Times Square! It was a helpful cheer as I zipped down 7th Ave. to Central Park South and into the park for a strong finish with my fastest pace of the race coming at the end. My wife completed the experience for me by catching me on video crossing the finish line from the live stream! 

TEAM DREW!

As a father and a husband, it’s important to acknowledge what a household is like for an avid runner. This can end with saying that my wife is simply the one responsible for all of it!  There is such a thing as a runner’s down after a runner’s high and having a supportive family can make all the difference in the world. I couldn’t thank my wife enough for constant, relentless, and unconditional support and love through every part of the journey!  To put things even more into perspective for me, the weekend following the run I got a first-hand experience of that unconditional support. I was up with the children who decided to start their day at 5 AM on a Saturday when my beautiful wife came charging downstairs with her gym clothes on and out the door to her class. Before noon that day, I needed a nap and hadn’t done a minute of physical exercise! The morning before the United Half, when I went out for my shakeout walk, my wife baked me fresh blueberry oatmeal cookies before I even got home, with the kids up!  My wife is a champion for countless mornings alone during my workouts. I love them and their high-energy mornings, creative projects, and breakfast table talks. The best way to start and end your day is with your family and I am blessed to have that opportunity.

Thank you to my wife for always fueling me right!

For most of my daily runs, I am out and back before the kids are up, except for the longer runs and I keep those for the weekend so that when I’m back we can enjoy breakfast as a family.  It’s important to be present and productive as a father and husband. On a normal day, parenting in itself has its challenges. My wife and I took the initiative this year to become the ‘sturdy pilots’ for our children and it’s part of my daily practice. We learned of the importance of the ‘sturdy pilot’ from Dr. Becky Kennedy who my wife and I happened to hear through our networks and decided to tune in to her platform, Good Inside. My wife started the book and we tune into her short videos and Zoom recordings with excellent parenting guidance. 

It was during my initial research into Dr. Becky Kennedy and her work, that I came across a podcast with a guy named Ryan Holiday, from The Daily Stoic. They were speaking about a topic that immediately resonated with me; ‘Regulation First, Happiness Second’. Dr. Becky was speaking about how we can never make our children happy but we can teach them to regulate their emotions that will lead them to their happiness.  A few weeks later, my sister sent me something about Stoicism and then I saw a blog on A System for Stoic Habits. I decided to look into Ryan Holiday’s Daily Stoic content and initially found his podcasts interesting and appealing which appealed to both the material and the shorter durations compared to podcasts that I’ve listened to in the past. Since then, I have picked up another daily self-improvement practice as a daily stoic podcast listener and it’s gone so far as to inspire me to write this jlog and more importantly, has increased my awareness of self-improvement and so many other aspects of my life. My next book will be Ryan’s ‘The Obstacle is the Way’. 

As my winter training went on through the winter, the podcast had more content on the changing of seasons and what we go through. We often hear about the darkness and coldness of winter and we rush into spring. The Daily Stoic reminded me that with every season that passes behind us, a little bit of us passes as well through time that we will never have back. It’s a reminder to take every day in full stride, no matter what the circumstances are. I can genuinely say that winter was the most enjoyable season, including the darkness and the coldness.

Setting the bar high this winter and in my United Half training led me to a personal record in the race. Does the PR matter? Another reminder from the DS podcast is from the stoic philosopher, Epictetus “We should only be in races where winning is up to us.” It’s about the race to get up every single day, out of our comfort and step into discomfort. Ryan spoke about the ‘Velvut Rut’, the greatest term yet!  The recent episode spoke about seasonality and ‘fake vacations’ where we trick ourselves into thinking that we’ll be more relaxed and less stressed by heading off into a vacation of the warm sun, radiating in luxury, lying in our Velvut Rut. My family and I go on vacations and love to travel in warmer climates and try different experiences together. As with the circumstances of the dark and cold winter days, how would I feel radiating in the sun? Would my daily actions be the same? Upon returning from the warmth of vacation, will my actions be the same back in the fray of ordinary life? For someone who loves traveling, this is awakening. The title of that podcast was “The Portable Retreat”. Regardless of our circumstances, are we living the best version of ourselves, every single day?  

There was a quote I read in Sahil Bloom’s recent blog. "It’s your road, and yours alone, others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you." - Rumi. When in doubt, just start moving. Looking back at my early morning runs, the real purpose is action. I don’t know exactly what’s ahead of me, nobody does. It was one small step to wake up, go outside, gather my thoughts for the present moment and the present day ahead of me, and the conviction that the actions I am taking will benefit me in some way. With anything, I’ve found when I’m stuck or want to quit, I simply start moving. It happens at the project that I’m currently managing and when it strikes, I’ve developed a habit of walking the site and cleaning to get me moving and thinking right.

I’m reading the biography book of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Here is a thinker who bet his whole life on simplicity and immaculate design together in technology products for everyday consumers. Most of his ideas sparked from long walks with colleagues, partners, family members, and business associates that would turn into products that ‘put a dent in the universe’ (This is the simple and extraordinary mission that Steve Jobs had). ‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’ is another mantra held by Jobs and all of Apple. We all feel the tug of resistance when we go the extra mile. When in doubt, just keep moving!

Lessons Learned:
The Wealthy Gardener: Impact hours are like cement blocks that form the foundation of all worthy achievements. They are boring and repetitive. When we conquer this valuable time and allow the magic of compounding to do its job, we reach places beyond ourselves.

Sir Edmund Hillary: “It is not the mountain that we conquer but ourselves.”

The Daily Stoic; Portable Retreat: “The true retreat is within the freedom of our mind and soul to consider the gifts we already have can be our refuge for all time if we take the time daily to do so.”

Emerson: “Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.”

General Fox Connor to young Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Always take the job seriously, never yourself’.

Everything good in life is a byproduct of action. Those who have a bias for action will always find their way. 

Epictetus: “It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.” Be a lifelong learner.