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“Every day the memory of my beach run (footprints in the sand) are washed away with every rising tide, however the memory and pain of Boston 2013 will always remain”    

I am lucky enough to live in two place that have the most beautiful beaches to run on; Flagler Beach, Florida and Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.   I love to run on the beach because it teaches you to run as “light” as possible, and then when you get off the sand onto the pavement, you feel like you are literally flying.  What I mean by running light is that you land your feet softly so as to not tear up the sand as your foot lands and pushes off.   This also lessens the impact of running on the joints (hips and knees).  If you can run “light” on the sand you can run “light” on the road and avoid overuse injuries.  As a bigger runner (height and/or weight) this is usually the cause of early retirement.

I am quite certain that I was chosen to be one of the 50 runners to raise money with Marathon Sports for the One Fund because of my running experience.  Over the next twelve weeks I am going to share what I have learned (right or wrong) the hard way over the last 20 years of running marathons.  I am not a Doctor, even though I have professed to be Dr. Woo.   What I have learned is a lot about how the body can and will repair itself, and how you can do anything you set your mind to by believing you can do it.

There are a few people running the 2014 Boston Marathon to raise money for the ONE FUND who have never run a ½ marathon.  They were chosen to run because of their close relationship with the victims of the bombing, the city of Boston, or they were able to express to the group making the decision that in their hearts they would not only finish a marathon but raise a substantial amount of money for the One Fund.

So here we go.  What I have learned from personal experience and 20 years of marathon running.  In order to complete any goal there are three things that will need to be in sync in order to accomplish the goal.   Your BODY has to be physically able to do it.  You have to have the HEART to do it. Your MIND has to be convinced that you can do it.

You can condition your body to have zero body fat, be nothing but muscle, train for 16 hours a day, but if your mind is not convinced that you can do it ………..YOU WILL FAIL.  This does not matter if it is a marathon, a business venture, a marriage or taking a test.  The same is true of the heart.  If you do not really want to be a marathoner, a business owner or to pass an exam, then you probably won’t.  Even if you do succeed, it will not be nearly as rewarding as when deep down in your heart you really want to finish that marathon, succeed with a business, have a wonderful life partner and pass your exam…and busted your ass to do it.

Now let me show you where these three things live.  Body, Mind and Heart.

The body is easy, that is you.  Your arms, your legs, your hips, your head…………got it?  Think of your mind as a little monkey sitting on your right shoulder.   Think of your heart as another monkey on your left shoulder.   So both monkeys have one of your ears.  Follow me so far?

Saturday when your body gets up and it is sore, it is cold and may be rainy out, the monkey on the right will say………..“Let’s stay in bed.”  The monkey on the left will say, “Get up, get your shoes, on and get running!”  You see the heart is telling the body you have to train to finish this marathon.   Your mind will try to convince you that this is not a good thing and no one will notice that you stayed in bed and that you did not run that day.  BUT…you will be the one who notices.  In a marathon you have heard of “hitting the wall.”  That is the right monkey telling the body and the heart that has got out of bed all those rainy cold mornings that “you can’t do this, go sit on the curb until someone comes along and gives you a ride.”  The challenge when there is rain, and cold, and so many other things to do – is to not let the right monkey win.  This won’t always be easy.

There will be long runs that the mind is “all speed ahead,” when the heart is telling the mind “we are the champions,”  and the body will say “oh no, we have a problem Houston!”  Dehydration, cramps and complete exhaustion will make completing the goal just not possible.

Over the next twelve weeks we will work to strengthen all three………..the body, the heart and the mind.

In the meantime, get off the couch, get your running shoes on and………go for a run.

Please feel free to contact me and ask questions or comment on any issues you may have when it comes to running.