Marathon of Life
16 years ago, at this time I had just run the NY Marathon. Few things almost bring NYC to a standstill. This is one of them. What a memorable experience! This past weekend was the 53rd running of that great race. Reflecting on my marathon training days, I am reminded that a lot of what it takes to complete a running marathon also applies to managing your work life, your personal life, and your mental well-being. Here are a few “marathon of life” training tips for you to consider:
Put It On the Calendar – Training for a marathon is time-consuming. To get in all the required weekly runs and miles I had to put them on the calendar, or they wouldn’t happen. Oftentimes, if we let it, the tyranny of the urgent or unnecessary meetings take over our day. This leaves little time to get the meaningful work done. One way to manage that at work and in life is to block time on your calendar to accomplish the important, but not urgent things. You will feel more satisfied and, amazingly, it helps minimize the firefighting.
Intervals – When preparing for a marathon, it’s not just about running long, slow runs. To complete a marathon, it is also necessary to do high-intensity interval training. This sort of training requires you to go as hard as you can for a short amount of time and then you rest. The rest is as important as going hard. It trains your body to adapt more quickly and gets it ready for the next burst. Work and life are the same way. If you keep running all out hard all day every day, you will burn out. In order to maximize optimal performance, you need to embrace the rest time as much as the “go hard” time.
Stretch – Before I started running long distances, I wasn’t much of a stretcher. I was always on to the next thing. I quickly learned that if I wanted my body to cooperate for all those miles of running, I needed to stretch. I have also come to learn that stretching helps my body cooperate better for all the hours of meetings, Zoom calls, and grinding it out at my desk. Stretching is a great thing to do during the previously mentioned rest breaks. It helps to re-energize your body and re-focus your mind.
This week’s Express Desk Stretch incorporates some of my favorite post-run stretches. You will find them helpful to get you through the marathon of your workday too. Check it out here.
Inquiry Question: Which of the three tips for running the “marathon of life” could you incorporate into your routine?
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Kind regards,
Anita