Turning Setback into Success

Last weekend, I had a big race.  The Black Mountain Monster.  It was the 24 hour race that I won the previous year, and this year, I set out to break the course record.  However, I was shot down.  With the lack of sleep, slight fever, I wasn't at my best when I started the race.  After finishing the first 50k in 4:40, I felt really sleepy... and wanted to take a break.  I still kept going, and eventually ended up in first at the 55.8 mile point.  But I was at my limit.  I needed to sleep, and so I went to the tent to take a nap, and then started throwing up.  My body was a mess, and with the loss of fluids, I couldn't control myself anymore, feeling weak and cold, my muscles cramping... my sister and friends did the best they could to help, but it was something I had to get through myself... and I knew that I had to quit the race midway.

It was the right decision, and it was the worst decision.  It needed to be done, but I wanted to continue.

After making that decision, I had to live with the consequences, which included lots of friends comforting me, facebook messages and text messages with encouragement and care... which was pretty awesome.  I'm definitely blessed to have such great friends surrounding me.  Another consequence was my yearning for growth.  I wasn't done.  There was unfinished business, and I wanted to do something about it.

The thing is, we all go through times where we fall, fail, or just have a bad day.  We can't be perfect every day (or any day, honestly).  We can't control the different things that happen to us.

Fortunately, we can control how we react.  On one spectrum, we can choose to be a reactive individual, where if something happens, we fire back with the same energy in retaliation, which may not be the best thing.  On the other end, we can choose to be proactive and use the energy directed at us, and use it to push us forward.  It's kind of like when you're on a sail boat.  Even when the wind is going the opposite direction, you can use that energy to propel you forward.  I'm not much of a sailor, but looking at that from a land lubber's point of view... it absolutely doesn't make sense... but it works.  The beauty of it is that we have the choice to use that negative energy to shut us down and go the wrong direction, or we can make majestically move and change that energy so that it propels us forward.

Now that it's been a couple of days, I look back and see how the setback gave me the drive to push forward and to want more.  I love running.  I love the freedom.  I love the hope that it gives other people when I share my stories with others... and with the drive, I feel closer to my goals than ever, even though I had this awful experience.  Growing from this and moving on will make me a stronger individual, and most importantly, it will be a good story that I can share with others to encourage them in their journeys.

Whenever bad things happen, look beyond the present, and instead, look at the future.  Imagine how this experience will be the fuel for you to get to that future, and work towards making the imagination into reality.  Each of us have the potential to grow from negative events, and as long as you have the will to progress, you will.

"And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive.  You won't even be sure, whether the storm is really over.  But one thing is certain.  When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in.  That's what this storm's all about."

-Haruki Murakami

Dreams

Last week, I was honored to be able to do a motivational speech in front of about 600 6th graders at River Trail Middle School.  In that speech, I was able to talk about dreams and how to achieve them, as well as shocking them with a couple things that they would have never expected from me.

Here's the outline of what I spoke... and if anyone wants me to speak to any sort of group, just email me and I'd be more than happy to do that.

Sho – Endurance Athlete – Motivation: GOAL

Introduction:  Who I am, what I do, etc.

I.  Dream

            A.  Your Dreams

                        1.  Defining Steps, Goals, and Dreams

                        2.  It’s a dream because it can’t be easily achieved

                        3.  Is it worth it?

            B.  Imagination

                        1.  Beginning with the End in Mind.  What do you see?

                        2.  Believe that it’s possible

II.  Desire

            A.  How bad do you want it?

                        1.  Defining “Desire”

                        2.  You only do what you want to do

                        3.  Listening to the voice that matters

            B.  Why do you want it?

                        1.  Staying Focused

                        2.  Staying Organized

                        3.  Implementation

III.  Dedication

            A.  Taking the right steps

                        1.  Research

                        2.  Head Knowledge to Heart Knowledge

                        3.  Lifestyle - Invest in yourself

            B.  Sacrifice

                        1.  Priorities

                        2.  Perseverance

3.      Failing Forward

My Story, my dreams and the steps I'm taking to make them a reality.

Take a tree, for example.  Every little root gives nourishment and water to the tree so that the tree can grow.  The tree’s goal is to grow up as high as it can as if to reach the sun.  With a big network of roots, it will be able to grow higher, and with that, become taller than the other plants around it.  The higher you want to grow, the more you’ll have to work hard and dig deep.  But as long as you don’t stop, anything is possible.

A Lesson From Food Poisoning

So it's been a long time since I've blogged but let me tell you a story... might be a little too graphic... but hey, you knowingly put yourself in the line of fire when you read on.

Once upon a time, not too long ago, I wasn't feeling too well because I had food poisoning.  I felt pretty bad throughout the afternoon, and even after my run, I still felt pretty bad.  I didn't think much of it, but figured that since I didn't feel like eating, I should lie down.

No sooner had I done so, when the pain in my stomach felt so bad, I thought for a moment, "I pity all the females that have to go through childbirth."  and after that, I was asking God why was this happening to me?  Looking around me because there was no time for running to the bathroom, I spotted a box that contained the Nature Valley bars, and dumped them out.

I proceeded to sing through "I've Got a River of Life Flowing Out of Me" over and over in my head, never getting anywhere... but unfortunately, the box had other plans.

As most cardboard boxes are not made for holding any form of liquid, there are cracks on the sides of the box where little by little, things were coming out onto my bed sheet, and so as I continued the flushing of my system, I ran downstairs with the box to the toilet.

I dumped the contents in the toilet as I continued my wonderful singing, and after I had drained all the fluids I could possibly drain, I cleared my nose and started the clean up process.

Everything should have gone well after I flushed the toilet, but hey... we're talking about my life... it's never that easy.

The toilet clogged.

It would be a very simple matter had it been just a simple clog, but unfortunately, this toilet had another fatal flaw.  Occasionally, after flushing, the chain would get caught in the hole and let all the water in the container flush down to the toilet.

To put it bluntly, there was a great flood coming out of the toilet coming to get me as I was washing my hands.  Learning from Noah that there was no time to lose, I proceeded to pick my weapon of choice to end this rain of terror.  I quickly fixed the chain and plunged the plunger down the waters and pushed with my feebly hands.  Once!  Twice!  Thrice!  and finally it was free.

Now at this point, I was tired and weak, there was a mess on the bed, a mess on the bathroom floor, and a mess in my stomach...

I had two choices.  I could just cry and lie down somewhere else and sleep... or I could do something about it.

I went upstairs to cry and lie down, but due to the bed sheet being soaked by certain liquids, I knew there was only one way out.  I took the bed sheet, went downstairs, soaked up part of the water, and threw it in the washing machine.  I proceeded to get my bath towel and do the same, and then mopped up the mess after I started washing the bed sheet and towel.

The thing is, bad things happen.  Sometimes, life really really sucks.  However, you always have a choice.  Are you going to take the beating and stay down?  Or are you going to have the guts to stand back up and fight?

Right now, I'm sitting on my bed waiting for my sheets to dry.  It was going to have to be washed eventually, and you know what, it was about time for the bathroom to be mopped.

Don't let things end if you fall.  Get up and fight.  Move forward.

Look Before You Leap, Stop Staring

It's always good to see what you're getting yourself into before you get yourself into a situation.  When you go up to a mountain river and go rock hopping, it's usually a good idea to look at where you're jumping and notice the important details such as distance, direction, how wet the rock is, and if there's a path in your mind that works.  It's not a good idea to study every minute detail of your next step, and then take that step.  The reason behind that is that since you are taking so much time with every step, you really aren't progressing at all.  You're being left behind by those that take a quick scan and push through... in fact, you're probably left behind by those that aren't even looking ahead and just jumping.  Obviously, if given enough time, you'll make it to the end, but sometimes, time is not in our favor.

I enjoy making plans.  I enjoy perfecting my plans so that I could be efficient and effective... however, if I keep spending all my time on the plans... I'm never going to get anywhere.  So I run.  I have a half-baked plan that I thought up of, and adjust it as I continue to run.  My dream is to become a professional runner, and in order to do that, I need to get faster and need to become stronger.  Obviously, my plan needs to be good, but if I don't run, then I'll be starting behind.  After my 100 mile run at the Pistol Ultra, I realized a couple things I needed to add.  The most important thing being the consistency.  Due to my coaching, my running hasn't really been consistent, but since the season was over, I was able to put more time into running, and therefore had a boost right before my race, which had positive results.

Now, I need to bring my base up and continue with what I already am doing, and train under my aerobic threshold.  Other than that, I'll tweak what I do here and there, but it'll all be about the same.  More miles means stronger legs, stronger legs means less recovery needed.  Less recovery needed means that I can be a monster.

Whether it's a business plan, running plan, lesson plan... or any other plans, the most important things is to get the main things down.  Planning for every minute detail is too much when you can make things better.  When writing an essay in middle school, teachers used to always ask for a rough draft.  Why?  Because they want us to think about it and put it down on paper.  After taking a break, or writing it down the first time, you can look at it again and make what you have down even more effective.  That's the same reason Apple always puts out their new iOS and currently, we're at iOS 7.0.4, which means that the first version wasn't good enough so they made it better a couple more times.

It's also pretty funny how we all get to tasks we don't enjoy doing.  We spend more time 'not wanting to do it' compared to what it would've taken to actually do it.  For example, I spend a good five minutes not wanting to do one set of push ups, while instead, I could have just done the push ups in a couple of minutes and saved that extra five that I spent 'not wanting to'.

Stop wasting time and do something useful.

The Pistol Ultra

It's been over a week since I've run the Pistol Ultra 100 mile race.  It was a great experience for me, to run my first official 100 mile race near where I lived, having family and friends come in and support me.  Held on January 4th, 2014, the Pistol Ultra started and finished in Alcoa near Alcoa Middle School, where the course was mainly on the Greenway.  The course was designed to be 9 laps of 11.1 (which technically is 99.9 miles, but I'm sure they had that extra .1 mile somewhere during the course).  Having the course divided up into 9 loops, I planned to run them "3 at a time" where I would restart my stopwatch every 3 laps, so I would be able to do my best in keeping a consistent pace throughout the race.  With an aid station 4 miles away from the start on the 9.4 mile out and back and just a small 1.7 mile loop the other way from the start, I was able to run without carrying anything.

1st 3 laps:

I finished the 3 laps planning on running it at about 6 hours, so I would average about 18 hours, but even with my 5 min run 1 min walk, I finished that in 5.5 hours.  Spending about 12 minutes at the main aid station, I totaled the whole 3 laps as 5:42.  During the beginning, there were quite a few people in front of me, and even with the 5/1, most people thought I was going too slow, while I thought I was still going too fast.  I was nervous before this race and wasn't sure exactly if I was going to do that well, and even felt like giving up because mentally I wasn't where I needed to be.  As the race progressed and I wasn't working 'too hard' and keeping my pace, hope started building up, and the confidence in myself started coming in.  I knew I had trained to run at a 16 hour pace, but figured I'd get somewhere between 18-20 hours for the actual race, and thus far, I was on track.

2nd 3 laps:

The middle laps were harder than the 1st 3, and I knew that it was going to cost me, but my first lap went by quickly... a little too quickly, as I finished 10 minutes faster than what I had been doing up to that point... and I knew that I might be in trouble if I kept it up.  The 2nd lap proved to be harder, and the 3rd lap the hardest.  My shoes were hurting my feet and I needed them changed.  By the time I was finishing up my third lap for my second set, I was slowing down like crazy (over a 13 min/mile pace) and the time I finished was at about 6:08, which was slower than what I wanted my average to be, but understandable because I've been running for over 50 miles.  Right before my final 1.7 miles, one of my Cross Country runners, Greg, came over and went to run the 11.1 miles with me, finishing my 6th lap with me and beginning my 7th lap with me.  Knowing that the last 3 was going to be important, I raised the stakes and ran that last 1.7 mile loop, and finished it at a 9:59 min/mile pace.

Final 3 laps:

If the last lap before my final 3 laps was a hard one... this would be what I call extremely hard.  Raising the stakes meant that I would be going longer without breaks and push myself closer to my limit in order to finish the race.  It meant that I would be pushing hard in order to get the best time possible and hope that I don't fall apart.  Having Greg run with me was good, and I pushed myself to run that 4 miles to the aid station, where I stopped to eat a little, as I always did, and ran that mini loop back to that aid station without stopping, and after walking a little bit, I pushed myself all the way back to the start, averaging just at 10:22 min/mile for that 9.4 miles.  Then since Greg was done, another friend, Drew, came and went running with me, pushing me faster than I would have gone alone.  This race was the first race I actually had pacers run with me, and it was during this race I realized the importance of having pacers, and how much they helped me run faster.  Finishing the first lap of the final three, I went on and averaged 12:05 min/mile for the 9.7 miles, and saw that I had enough time to make it under 18 hours for the whole 100 miles... but I wasn't done yet.  I was greedy and wanted more.  I wanted to push myself to the best of my abilities and finish this race as strong as I could possibly finish it in.  I surged passed and pushed myself forward aiming to get under 18 hours if I could.  I continued what I left off earlier, running 5 minutes and walking 1 minute, and pushed myself faster during the faster times, because I was using different muscle fibers, and knew that I had more in me than I gave myself credit for.  With that, I pushed myself until I got closer to the aid station, where I met up with DK, who said that he would help me on my last lap... and help me he did.  He pushed me, I followed him, he got me exactly where I needed to be, just at the point of breaking, but never breaking.  Getting to the aid station, I was able to eat and drink a little bit, and then went for that small loop.  After getting back, I didn't follow the 5/1 plan and it became a "try as hard as you can all the way" plan which didn't suit me well but it pushed me beyond my mental limits.  I was complaining so much, that I didn't want to go forward, but deep inside, I knew that I could push myself, and so I kept on pushing.  I dug deep and kept on digging as I went further, and when I was about 2 miles away from the main aid station, I had to stop to walk because my mental capacity was on overload and I needed that break.  After that, DK helped push me to the best of my abilities, and painfully, I kept on going, finishing that 9.4 mile section in 9:46, going for my last 1.7 miles and pushing without stopping to walk.  Nathan joined me at this point, and both Nathan and DK encouraged me to keep pushing, and even though at that point I was getting annoyed, I kept on pushing because the end was in sight.  I only had a little more to go til I finished.  I pushed through with great effort and with the last hill to the finish line, I mustered all I could and sprinted the last 100 meters to the finish line, crossing the line at 17:45:10.

Afterwards, I could hardly walk because the pain was unbearable.  The arches of my feet hurt so bad, and I just could not do too much after that last push.  I took the picture with the RD, I hobbled back and gave a couple high fives to the aid station crew, and somehow got in my sister's car, and was driven to a friend's house where I took a bath and attempted to get some sleep... which is hard when your whole body is screaming at you....

But you know what, overall, I had a great time.  The people were nice, the course was nice, the other runners were nice... I was able to push myself and run my best race.  I'm a step closer to where I need to be... because finishing at a 10:39 min/mile pace, if I was able to keep that up, that would mean that I would have been able to run 135.2 miles in 24 hours, which would be enough to qualify to get in the National 24 hour team trials.  Every step I take is important because it gets me closer to where I'm aiming to be.

How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.

Can You Keep a Secret?: The Strength Within

It's that time of the year when people begin to put their thoughts on paper and make this grand new decision on how they're going to start this year fresh and change their lives.  Most people start of strong... but eventually get back into their old habits.  A few manage to continue the new path and end the year with success.  So how do they do that?  The thing is that there are many tools out there that can help an individual become stronger.  There are studies that shows how people can put themselves through certain paths in order to reach success.  There are also superficial ideas where people look at the 'good ideas' and judge basing it off of how they feel by looking at it... and failing to understand it to a deeper level.

Here's my method of success.  First, you write down what your goals are.  After you write them down, figure out the steps you need to take them.  Write them down.  Live your life according to those steps.  If whatever you do prevents you from getting to your goal, then don't do it.  If it helps you get to your goal, then do it.

That's all.

Can it be this simple?  Yes.  HOWEVER, people mess things up by adding extra steps to this simple equation.  They feel the need to be accountable and ask others... which can be okay to a certain extent.  If you tell someone and ask them to keep you accountable, you end up less likely to do it.  Rather, if you had not asked them but told them the exact steps you are currently undertaking, you will be more likely to do it.  If you share your goals, your mind gets this euphoric feeling where you feel as if you've accomplished something by sharing... but have you really?  Not in the slightest.  Instead, you made yourself feel like you did something without doing anything, and therefore, you are less likely to actually do it, because you already have that sense of satisfaction ingrained in you because you shared your goals to someone else.

Instead of sharing goals, if you share the step you are doing, and stating it as a fact rather than a plea for accountability, you put pressure on yourself.  It's that pressure that allows you to figure out if you really want to take the steps towards your goals.  It's that pride that you have, the integrity, the strength within that allows you to reach your goals.  If you already feel good about yourself getting to your goal without actually doing anything, it's getting yourself further away from reality.

So why do I share my goals with you?

It's really simple.  When I share my goals, I'm not looking for an accountability partner.  I am not asking for encouragement to get to my goals.  I am sharing with you the path that I am taking so that I can live a life of encouragement.  I put that kind of pressure on myself so that I can encourage other people and push them to become the best they can be.  As a motivator, it's important that I share.  I share so that I can help you.  It does make me a little weaker.  It makes me less likely to push myself as hard, but if it's to help others get closer to their goals, it's worth making my path a little more difficult.

Step by step, I progress, and as I share my goals, it becomes a little harder for me to push on, but because of a habit, and because I keep reminding myself of my goals and putting pressure on myself, when I achieve the little steps, that's enough to keep me pushing towards my next step as I climb the ladder towards my goal.

3 Steps to Plan for Success

Once upon a time, there was a boy who signed up for a race.  He trained hard, and when he arrived to the race, he saw a starting line, but nothing else marked.  He wasn't exactly sure where they were going, so he asked another person, "Which direction are we running?" and to that, the person replied, "I don't know, but I'm going to do my best."  The boy went to another person and got the same reply... in fact, everyone around him seemed to be ready to go and do their best, but not one of them had any idea where the finish line was.

The thing is, there are a lot of people that want to succeed.  However, they miss the most important part.  They don't have a dream... a goal that they are striving for.  Sure, they may have a vague understanding of it, but what good is knowing that there is that 'finish line' but failing to figure out what the course was and understanding how to get there?  The desire to finish is very important, but being able to envision that finish line is just as important.

First step:  Look at where you were.

If you don't know where you come from... or accept that that's where you came from.  You won't really know how you're doing now.  Also, when you look back at where you were, you'll be able to know that you're going the right direction, and have a sense of pride in the distance you've traveled.

Second step:  Look at where you are.

If you know where you are, you have an easier time to discover what your next step is.  If your foot is stuck in a bear trap but you ignore that and continue forward, heading towards your goal... it's not exactly productive.  First know that your leg is in that bear trap, get it out, and THEN move forward.

Third step:  Look at where you're going.

Have that goal in mind.  After knowing where you were and where you are, the next obvious thing that still eludes people for some reason is to have that ultimate goal or dream.  If you don't have the finish line in mind, and work towards that, you might not even be going in the correct direction.  If we put all our efforts into something that goes against where we want to go... it's counterproductive.  If you have that clear and concise goal that you're working towards, then you can put that energy to reach it.

These simple three steps are simple in theory, but when actually put into practice, it will be crucial to you making your plans towards success.  Once you have a plan, it's up to you to follow that plan and work hard towards your goal.  Obviously, there's more to it than this, but once you figure out where you were, are, and want to be, you have just taken a critical step towards achieving success.