Monthly Archives: September 2009

“Workouts are like brushing my teeth; I don’t think about them, I just do them.  The decision has already been made.”  PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian

This Sunday is the Inaugural Atlanta 13.1.  This is the first of my fall races.  I am anxious to see how this race is put on.  It is never an easy task to pull of a great first year race.  I did the Inaugural ING in Atlanta a few years ago and they certainly had some kinks to work out.  No water at the start, they ran out of water and powerade during some of the race, cars parked in the road at the start and generally just a bit of confusion.  It has turned out to be a race I enjoy running though.

You just never know what to expect.  I am looking forward to getting it started though.  With three races this month I have no expectations and will try to keep the pace easy and I am planning to just use it as a training run for my race in a couple of weeks.  “That is the plan!”  I just hope I can stick with it and not let me pride get in the way on race day and go faster than I should.  I will run hard enough but do not plan to try and set any PR’s.  Should be a good week and let’s hope the weather will cooperate with us.

I have not been able to move past the words I heard and referenced from last week by Dean Karnazes about pain.  During my run today I thought a lot about pain and happiness.  I spent some time thinking about happiness.  I was reminded of the movie “Pursuit of Happyness”.  I am not sure if you watched it but about 99% of that movie was not about happiness.  He was chasing a dream and a better life for his son and himself.  It was not about happiness.

It is interesting to me what we are taught throughout our lives about pain.  As a child you are encouraged to avoid things that would get you hurt.  The doctor tells you if something causes you pain to stop doing the activity that causes the pain.  Pain is a word that we view as bad and not for us.

What if we were taught differently.  As kids if we were told the way to get smarter and stronger is to endure pain.  I don’t encourage you to go find a way to get hurt and cause yourself pain today.  However as a runner I know that most of the things that cause me pain today will bring me the greatest growth and reward down the road.

“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed. “  Booker T Washington

This goes along with last weeks video.  Dean Karanzes made a statement that has stuck with me in that video, ” In the western world we thought that in the absence of pain we would be happy.  We have become so comfortable that we are miserable.  There is no pain and no struggle.”

I heard Rob Bell talk about this story the other day and I loved the quote, “There is no why”.  It was also funny to hear the police talk about how spectacular the whole event was.

Have you ever tried to explain something to someone and knew that you couldn’t?  Such as “Beyond the Epic Run” from last week, some things you just can’t explain.  Tightrope walking across the World Trade Center towers was personally crazy in my mind but I am crazy to others so what does it matter.  What is beautiful it catching a vision of doing something great and amazing and doing what it takes to pull it off.  That is a thing of beauty.  Some things need and can be given no explanation.

This is pretty amazing.  “Beyond the Epic Run” is a feature length documentary film about a Swiss couple who live their dream to run around the world.  Together, Serge and Nicole Roetheli leave for an adventure.

“Mind is everything: muscle–pieces of rubber.  All that I am, I am because of my mind.”  Paavo Nurmi

Good article in the New York Times about Running can help your knees

It is worth a read with all we here about how running is bad for your knees.  Nice to hear confirmation on what many of us already knew.

All endeavor calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil. The fight to the finish spirit is the one… characteristic we must posses if we are to face the future as finishers.

Henry David Thoreau

I hope you had a chance a couple of weeks ago to check out Team Sweat at www.teamsweat.org

Probably the first thing you would ask is how can I help.  Jim Keady is the founder of Team Sweat and just has a simple request.  He is not suggesting a boycot but just get informed.  Take simple steps to help these workers get a wage they deserve.  One very simple thing is just to fire off an e-mail to Nike at the e-mail address below and let them know you would like to see something get done and help these workers. 

I have worn Nike my whole life and worked part-time for Nike.  From a corporate stand point they do great things and treat staff in the U.S.A. fantastic.  I just want that to be done for the workers that produce the shoes and I know they can help make that happen.

Mark.Parker@nike.com

Frustration is the first step towards improvement.  I have no incentive to improve if I’m content with what I can do and if I’m completely satisfied with my pace, distance, and form as a runner.  It’s only when I face frustration and use it to fuel my dedication that I feel myself moving forwards.  John “The Penguin” Bingham

We are just less than four months away from the Goofy Challenge at the Disney World half and full marathon weekend.  I wanted to give you a quick update on training and progress.  Training is going Thank you for all of your support to help our team in the fight against breast cancer and the support of Deb Wills with Team AllEars.  Our team is training hard and working toward our goal for the Disney races in January. 

You can help us to fight this disease.  You can learn more about our team at http://allears.net/pluto/teamallears.htm

I am trying to get each mile of the 39.3 miles I run on the Disney Marathon weekend sponsored to run for you or someone you would like for me to run for.  You can contact me directly to sponsor one of the miles(tbrush3@yahoo.com).  With each $25 donation I will be letting you name one mile after you or someone you would like for me to run in honor of.  I want to make sure each mile is represented and I want to make sure I know who I am running for each mile.  You can sponsor and name as many miles as you would like.

You can contribute online by visiting http://www.avonwalk.org/goto/debwills2010 Please be sure to put AllEars Trey Brush after your donation.  You can also send checks made out to Avon Walk for Breast Cancer C/O Deb Wills, 3520 Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite F03-105, Fredrick MD 21704.  Please be sure to write Team AllEars Trey Brush on the check in the notes.  Thank you so much for your support.

Most days I do my runs without earphones and just use that time to think.  Today for sure that will be the case to spend a few minutes remembering 9-11.  I hope at some point and time today you will take a few minutes to think about the lives that were changed forever because of September 11, 2001.

It is hard to believe it has been eight years ago today.  With all the debate and politics I pray to remember that we are all a part of the human family on this little tiny bubble called earth.

Contrary to popular belief I was not born with a desire to run.  I have always enjoyed it but never to the extent I do now.  I was trying to think the other day about how such a passion came about.

Then I realized it was actually pretty simple.  I worked on it.  I kept on working on it.  It was not easy at first but I just kept working on it.  The more I worked on it the more I wanted to run.  The more I worked on it the more I wanted to read about running, talk about running and hear about running.

That is really not that much different from anything else in life.  Again, it is pretty simple but just work on it.  If you are truly willing to sacrifice for something I am pretty certain the passion for it will come.  It is all about being intentional.

If you want to get fired up about your job, work on ways to make it happen.

If you want a deeper relationship with your spouse, work on it.

If you want to develop a passion to run, lace em up and work on it.

“To keep from decaying, to be a winner, the athlete must accept pain–not only accept it, but look for it, live with it, learn not to fear it.”  Dr George Sheehan

I imagine you can substitute many different things in that quote.  The be a great husband or dad.  To be a great business owner or employee.  The have great relationships. 

You could say, To be great at anything or a winner of anything you must accept pain–not only accept it, but look for it, live with it, learn not to fear it.

This past weekend I did my long run at a different location than I have run before.  It had been a tough week with a lot of miles and I thought I would have struggled some but I actually felt better than I have in a while.  I think some of it might have been mental.  I cannot tell you how good it felt to run somewhere different.  I do 90% of my runs in one location and I think once in a while it is the location that burns me out and lack of change in scenery.

I do think I am getting stronger in this plan but I also know mentally I felt great Saturday as well and can contribute that to mixing it up a little bit.  I think it is certainly worth a try to mentally give yourself a break and do something different and see what kind of momentum that creates for you.

While reading an e-mail today I came across the interesting statement.  Something to think about…

Four Essential Truths Kids need to know.

Author Richard Rohr identifies truths that dads need to teach their kids before they leave home.  They are: life is hard, you are going to die, you are not ultimately in control and your life is not about you. 

Something truly unique to think about.  Agree or disagree, food for thought.

“Our weaknesses also stem from our unwillingness to accept our limitations”  from “TrueFaced” by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol and John Lynch.

It makes it very difficult to improve until you can admit and come to a place that you realize, alone you have your limits.  It shows weakness but takes strength and will make you stronger.

When you look back at leaders, great athletes, great people most of them were known for something in particular.  They have all done many great things and been amazing in so many ways but most are known for “That one thing”.

Mother Theresa- Compassion

Martin Luther King Jr- Civil Rights

Abraham Lincoln- Uniting a country

Babe Ruth- The Homerun

Sir Roger Bannister- Breaking the four minute mile

Thomas Edison- Inventing

The Wright Brothers- Flight

On a run this past weekend I began to think and dream what I would want that to look like for me.  What would I want that one thing to be?  I am being intentional about one thing?  How would I want others to be impacted by my one thing?  What things I am doing to create that in my life? 

What is your one thing?