How Do You Excel As A Beginner
I wanted to write a short post on this before I decide to call it a night.
You know what is the most beautiful thing about a beginner who is setting out to run his or her first marathon? They have no expectations.
Sure, they have a goal in mind. It might be just to finish and let me tell you.
I think so highly of someone who can just finish the marathon and find joy in that.
Beginners, I think, have it right compared to us who have been around a little longer and are caught up in high placings and fast marathons and races, in that their totally relaxed.
They simply want to have a good time and give it a crack. It is the same with children, their are no boundaries, their are no set beliefs in what they think they can do. They just go out and have fun.
We're told ‘no, you can't do that' for so many years often times we begin to listen to it, believe it is set in stone, when really in reality it isn't. I know I have left competitiveness get the best of me many times, especially earlier on my running career.
Why I want a focal point on rundreamachieve in regards to beginners and folks just trying to get fit or wanting to learn more about running as a sport is simply this, because YOU just like the Olympians deserve to be appreciated for what you do.
Who defines what is ‘elite' anyway? What is it? Well I think someone who gets out at 5am in the morning to knock out a 20 miler before going into work or someone wanting to lose weight is pretty damn elite.
It takes courage to do things we are uncertain of, things that are uncomfortable.
I have always tried to be approachable with runners of all ability levels. I have known other fast marathoners, runners in general, who don't take the time to appreciate the mid packers, the warriors out there fighting their own battles trying to achieve their goal time.
It takes work but we all need to slow down and appreciate what beginners (and children) can teach us. We have to embrace failures in our performances if we are ever going to get to the place we want to go in this sport.
James Dyson put it this way,
I made 5127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5126 failures. But I learned from each one. That’s how I came up with a solution. So I don’t mind failure. I’ve always thought that schoolchildren should be marked by the number of failures they’ve had. The child who tries strange things and experiences lots of failures to get there is probably more creative
Train to win, set goals, read and learn from others but don't lose sight of the joy of the sport itself. I'll read over this again as I, like all of you, move into 2012.
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