Latest / 12 Months to Marathon / 12 Months to Marathon - Episode 11 - How to Handle Adversity

Transcript

12 Months to Marathon - Episode 11 - How to Handle Adversity · 12 Months to Marathon

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the 12 months to marathon podcast with me, John Hill, the running podcast for the over 35s with Marathon Dreams.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Episode 11, how to handle adversity, which is very timely, actually.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you know from following the podcast, which you should, and I hope you do, thank you very much.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it very much.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: I did a 10k on Sunday, the Worcester 10K.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Great run, actually.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: So if you can get up there and do it or get down there, depending on where you are.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's a fantastic run, well organised.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: There's a 10k and a half, it's really, really good run, nice and flat, nice scenery as well.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: I was fortunate enough actually because Paula Radcliffe was starting it off.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: So from my journey, not being able to do my shoelaces up at the age of 28, being out of breath, to being at the front of a race when Paula Radcliffe is starting it, is somewhat of an amazing journey, which I'll elaborate on a little bit later on.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I'll tell you the story of the race uh so it'll help you to set the scene for what I'm going to talk about today.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: So basically, we started off and I had an idea in my head about beating my PB.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now I was trying to break 39 minutes, which uh is is is really quick for me, actually.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so I was trying to break 39 minutes, and it was on based on the averages I was looking at.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um I was I was on for it, I think, based on my average pace on Garmin, sorry.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: I was a little bit little bit all over the shop, so I went out a bit quick because I started right at the front and I went out with the real nutters, you know, the 30 minute as and these people.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I went out a little bit, I went out a little bit quick.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I went out, I think my first mile was six minute miles, uh, and then just over that for the second one, and then I sort of went back to about 620, then 650, and then 620.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know what my last mile would have been, because I'll I'll tell you in a minute.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but it was definitely on, I think.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so you when you do the Worcester, you run down the river towards the end, and then you come over this little bridge and then run back down the river uh to the pretty much the the town centre nearly where you go down this little like bridge and then you're on the finish line, which is on the road next to the river.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I I remember seeing the 8k sign, and there was a uh young lady I was running next to, and someone shouted at her, You're the second female.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: So what I didn't realise was going on was I was running next to the woman who finished second.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the sort of pace I was going at.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: So it was decent.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: I think I was on for if it wasn't the PB, it was certainly going to be very well, if it wasn't in the 38, which is what I was going for, I think I would have been on for a PB, or certainly a very good time.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I hit 8k, and then just after that, I remember a guy came up and said, Oh, what time are you going for?
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I told him, and he said, Oh, I'll run with you then, because you know that's okay, I'm pretty much at my own limit.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then all of a sudden I felt this little niggle in my left hamstring, and it happened to me in Poland a few weeks ago when I was doing some track work, and then I got a bit further into the run.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that particular bit of the run, should I say, and it just sort of went like a footballer goes when they pull up with the hamstring, and it was really painful right in the centre, and there was no way I was continuing at that pace.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I started hobbling, um, tried to pick it back up, now it wasn't happening.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: People being very supportive.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Come on, mate, you can do this.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, nope, I really, really can't.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I hobbled my way to the end, hobbling down the uh the home straight, which was quite the sight, and I finished in 41-40 something, which is still an amazing time.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like I finished 118th out of 2000, you know, 28th in my age category, even with the hobbling for the last sort of just under a mile.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: So it was still a good achievement.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I had this whole almost victim victim mentality speech thing set up in my head for after the run because I was like, oh, you know, woe is me, and I'm a coach, and I should know better, and I should do better, and all these things, and then I just stopped at the end and said, No, we're not doing that anymore, because that's your pride talking, and people get hurt sometimes, things don't go your way, and that's everybody from you know the pros, that happens to the pros.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I remember the story about Kipchoga in the Olympics, and he um you know he's had a problem with his back and he didn't finish.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: It happens, you know, and uh and and people respect that and know that, but for me that was just a pride thing, and there's layers to that which I'll perhaps talk to you about on another podcast.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: But what I did was firstly, after I finished, I was very grateful that as I said earlier, somebody at the age of 28 who couldn't do a shoelace up without being out of breath and being really unfit was able to be at the start line, really, and see Paula Radcliffe at the start line and be able to at least hang with those people for a bit.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I was I was I was in the mid sort of in the front pack, you know, the the people running 30 to 40 minutes.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: I was at least going to be, you know, in that mix towards the the back end of it at least, but you know, at 47, I'm very grateful.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: There was some quite young people going, and the girl who said I mentioned was the second female.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: I say girl because she was quite young.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't know how old she was, but she was a lot younger than me.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, me hanging with that um that field was was was was impressive to me, and I was very grateful.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: So that was the first thing I was grateful for.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: And the second thing was it was okay, it was just an you know, it's a bit of inflammation.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to see a physio, I'm practicing what I preach, I've done some rehab work on it.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: I've tried in some different ways this week to see what what happens.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a big believer and you should train, you should exercise around things.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I've always been told by physios, unless, of course, you've been told specifically uh not to do anything, but usually it's just let's work around it and let's work with it and let's help the body heal and strengthen.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: So it's okay.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but it taught me a really good lesson about adversity, and I think sometimes, and I get this a lot in our running community, people beat themselves up terribly, and it doesn't achieve anything.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: But if you take the lesson, if you look at everything as a lesson and you look at it as feedback, not failure, you'll be successful.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: I can take that as feedback.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: I was probably not conditioned to run that quick.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: I've been doing my high rox training, that's five weeks, just under you know, just over five weeks, I think now, hopefully.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I was doing my high rox training, and I thought that would be enough conditioning to be able to get me around a 10k at that pace, and it clearly wasn't.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: There was clearly something off, and my body's told me something there which I need to listen to.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I'll probably do this on a different podcast, but I have been looking after myself a bit better, I have been sleeping better, I've been doing less exercise, and that's had a knock-on effect to both my sleep and all my other metrics, which really is a positive thing because now I can see that you know I'm I'm seeing improvements from doing rest and recovery.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: So it was a really good lesson on adversity, and I want to talk to you about that today.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because when we start a running journey, most people, where we start from is a say a couch to a couch to 5k place.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: And when we start from a couch to 5k place, usually that's a run walk, and it can be quite intimidating running, can't it?
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you go out, you're on the streets, you're exposed.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: If, for example, you've got any sort of weight loss ambitions like I used to have, you might be wearing clothes that are not exactly flattering, uh, because a lot of running clothes aren't, especially if you need to lose a bit of weight, and that's just the reality of the situation.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: So it can be quite an intimidating thing and quite it can make you quite self-conscious.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: So anybody that goes out and wants to do anything along those lines, like a you know, a couch to 5k and start the process takes an immense amount of courage, but with that becomes a comes a lot of adversity, not only physically, but also mentally.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now I talk a lot about resistance when people start on fitness programs because I say you're gonna have the physical resistance and the mental resistance.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: So the physical resistance is the soreness, it's the discomfort, it's all those things that come with starting a journey.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: The mental resistance is the oh see, you're really unfit, you're gonna be the slowest one there, you're gonna be the fattest one there, you shouldn't be doing this.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: And you need to conquer that, you need to conquer that because adversity is part of this process if you want to get better at running, whether you want to get faster or further or whatever it might be, it's going to be difficult sometimes.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: We're heading into autumn winter.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Some people don't run in those conditions, and that's fine if that's your choice, but if you want to maintain a level and be consistent, you have to learn a way to deal with that adversity.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I've always loved the metaphor for the word character, which is apparently it's deriving from an ancient word which means to chisel.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: So if you imagine seeing an ancient sculpture, and I've been fortunate to go to Rome and I've seen some there, where somebody sat there with a little chisel and a little hammer, and they're just chiseling away at this wonderful sculpture with no machinery and nothing else.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: That takes time and patience to be able to do that, and that's what you're doing when you're dealing with adversity, you are building character, and it's your character that's going to stand the test of time, particularly in running terms, and you've got to deal with it, and it's normal, you know, it's normal.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then you've got the other side of the coin, which is you know, maybe you get to a certain point, and different adversity and different discomfort comes along the way because you are creating gaps.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, if you run a 5k and you want to run a 10k, well, there's a gap there, isn't there?
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Both an actual gap in terms of the kilometres, but also there's probably a gap in your mind because you've got to become the person that runs 10 instead of running five, and then from 10 to half and half to marathon if you follow that journey.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: So, all these things bring adversity with them, and you've got to learn how to deal with it in the right way.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: But a lot of it, like I said, is driven by pride and ego.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: What I had a whole prideful ego speech lined up for after that run, and the reality of it is it was just a lesson for me, and I'm incredibly grateful that I was able just to be out there and do that.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and it was close.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what it tells me as well, it tells me that what I want to do is in there with the right refinement and the right tweaks, I can achieve it.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes you've just got to take the lessons and say, right, how can I get better?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that now, and you know, I've got a very supportive community around me of people.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody on Instagram, if you follow me on Instagram 12 months to marathon, don't forget to go over there, has been quite supportive as well.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Which tells me that I'm probably giving out the right message, which you want to give out, which you want to want to give out, which is let's make this accessible, let's face the adversity together, and let's make running accessible for everyone.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: And your journey is your journey.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I've just described the kind of paces that I that's me, and I I really can't just that because I'm very fortunate to be able to do what I do at 47, you know, because it could have been a really different story for me.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: If I hadn't changed at 28, this would have been a whole different story.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm very, very grateful that I chose to do that, and I'm very, very grateful that I'm able to do what I do.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: But I had a vision on Sunday of all that being taken away from me because it could, you know, it could have been, I could have been seriously hurt.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Luckily for me, I wasn't.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I can take the feedback and take the lesson and use it to help me grow and develop as a runner and as a human being.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I did I think I did that on Sunday.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: It helped me grow as a human being because I've been on a bit of a journey myself.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: I will share that with you.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: I will share some stuff with you because you you're obviously taking the time to listen to this, and I appreciate that as well.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm grateful for that about the journey that I'm going on personally, as well as as a runner, which is helping my running and helping my physical state, because I think we can do incredible things if you learn how to deal with adversity, and there's nothing wrong with you for hitting roadblocks and obstacles because you're going to as you develop.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'll leave you with this.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: I once heard an expression a couple of years ago, and it always stuck in me.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: People aren't scared of failure, they're actually scared of success because success brings with it certain responsibility.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Failure doesn't, yeah.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I come from a weight loss background, and if you lose weight and you want to keep it off, that comes with certain responsibilities, and a lot of people don't want that responsibility because you have to change as a person.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's why a lot of people put weight back on because they do the diet, for example, and then come off the diet and it all comes back.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're a runner and you want to be a consistent runner, that comes with certain responsibilities.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: You have to be consistent all year round, you have to find a way to be consistent, and if you don't, that's fine, but you will lose your progress.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: But that is also okay if that's what you want.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: So if it's all okay, it just really depends on what you want, but it all links back to adversity and how you handle it.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: So don't be scared of adversity.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've got an expression which is everybody's different, nobody's special, which basically means that everybody's got to do the work in their own way.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: So we've all got to do the work if you want to improve as runners, but you have to do that in your own way.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: It has to suit you, you know, you have to suit your circumstances, and if you're doing the best you can and you know you are, that's all that matters.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: But head that head into head into that adversity sometimes, head into the storm, face it.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I did that on Sunday, I faced it.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of making it all about me and being prideful and being embarrassed and making it all about me and big some some big performance because of in a inbuilt fears I had, I went, No, I can use this to make me better as a human, me better a runner, and hopefully me better as a coach, and also me better at this sort of stuff to help you guys listening, which again I really really appreciate.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: So don't be scared of adversity, it's where your growth lies, and run towards it sometimes because once you come out the other end of it, I promise you, you'll be thankful that you did.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm a better person for it, and hopefully you can be too.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: So if you need any help or support, please reach out.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure to follow me over on Instagram, 12 months to marathon.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Drop me a follow over there, or reach out if you want any any sort of um advice or anything like that.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: We can give you some general advice or things, or if you want to talk to me about running coaching, I'm more than happy to do that as well.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: We'll have a chat.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: And look, if it's not for you, no problem at all.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: At least you have the conversation.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: So we're building a lovely little community now of people who support each other.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want to be part of that community, absolutely we'd love to have you just reach out and um yeah, we'll have a chat.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: But thank you very much for listening to the podcast.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: I do really, really appreciate that.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: As always, don't forget to to like and share the podcast wherever you get your podcast from, or follow it or love heart it, whatever you do on the podcast platform, share it with your friends.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's much appreciated.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I appreciate your support.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, keep running, keep going, keep chasing those dreams and that adversity, and who knows where you might end up.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much, and I'll speak to you soon.