Running 4 Your Life

Tonight I hosted a teleseminar with Kathrine Switzer, women’s running pioneer. Jan Seeley, publisher and co-owner of Marathon & Beyond Magazine, was my co-host and interviewed Kathrine using questions that our participants submitted.

Kathrine shared with us her experiences last week at both the Boston Marathon and at the women’s Olympic marathon trials. And, she answered questions submitted from people all over the country.

Kathrine is the keynote speaker at the upcoming Women on the Move Conference & Retreat in Spearfish, South Dakota, on August 13-15, 2008. The Conference is in conjunction with the all-women’s Leading Ladies’ Marathon and Half-Marathon on August 17.

If you’d like to listen to the replay, it is available on our Event Replay page.

For more information on the Women on the Move Conference & Retreat, go to the Women on the Move website.

Every connection we make has a purpose, whether it’s a connection with a person, an animal, or nature. Clearly, we don’t always recognize the purpose at the time, and many we may never recognize. But if you reflect on some of the connections you’ve made in your life, you’ll discover the purpose of the encounter and maybe realize that you learned something in the process.

I keep a journal of the connections that I recognize, and it’s amazing how

• one person leads to another who provides just the thing you were looking for…
• then someone recommends a book…
• you get the book and learn something from that book that is exactly what you needed to hear right then…
• someone tells you about an event…
• you go to the event and meet someone who later becomes a friend or a client…

When you become aware that everything and everyone is connected…, (more…)

Everyday we are tested. Someone cuts us off in traffic. Someone says things that we don’t want to hear. Someone doesn’t follow through on a commitment.

And, what is the natural response? We get mad, we get our feelings hurt, we are disappointed. In short, we think negative thoughts and have negative emotions. And, then we wonder why we don’t feel good, or why we’re so tired, or why the people around us seem cranky.

What you think about expands, and if you think negative thoughts which lead to negative emotions, you will only attract more of what you don’t want into your life. Every thought, every emotion, has energy, and obviously negative emotions have very low energy - thus weakening our immune system, making us tired, and fostering irritability.

So, what do you do about it?

You get into the habit of recognizing when you and others are thinking negative thoughts, and immediately tell yourself, “I’m being tested.” And then ask yourself, “What’s the opportunity in this?”

With yourself, your opportunity is to practice recognizing negative thoughts and raising your own energy levels.

With others, your opportunity is twofold:

1. It is a chance for you to “practice” being more positive by verbalizing an alternative way to think to someone else, thus enhancing your own energy level; and
2. It gives you a chance to help raise someone else’s energy.

So, the next time you are “tested,” recognize it and ask yourself, “What is the opportunity in this?” And see how many “tests” you can pass in one day.

Focus on the process. This has been my mantra for the past 6 months as I prepare for my next marathon. Just today, I reminded a good friend of mine to do the same. (Thanks, John. Reminding you helps remind myself.)

It’s good to set a goal; in fact, you have to set a goal in order to implement the process of achieving it. However, you must beware: It’s easy to become obsessed with the outcome and lose sight of the process.

Here’s the way I approach setting goals and making plans to achieve them (this applies to all endeavors, not just running): (more…)

When most of us think of “relationships,” we think of our connections with other people. And, clearly, those human relationships are some of the most important relationships we have. We also have relationships with nature or with a higher source.

And, for those of us who have pets, we have relationships with our dogs and cats. We understand that the connection we have with our animals fills a space in our lives that is often hard to explain to people who don’t have pets.

I have a golden retriever named Fremont. We have raised him from a puppy, and he has brought both joy and frustration into our lives (not that much different than our human children have). Recently, I was reading a book about goldens, and although I thought the writer was talking about Fremont, he could have also been talking about any of our animals that we love.

He said that the golden is a beautiful, wonderful dog with a face that seems to smile and who gets along with both cats and other dogs. He naturally bonds with adults and children and has a huge heart that he readily shares with anyone willing to accept it. He is generous, outgoing, affectionate and loyal. But the most golden part of the golden retriever is his heart.

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone could describe us like that?

This past weekend, I traveled with a team of friends to southern Illinois to participate in an event called the River to River Relay. 8 runners, 3 legs each, 80 miles, and lots of hills - We ran from the Mississippi River to the Ohio River. We formed our current team 5 years ago, and this year we set our personal record: not only did we finish in under 12 hours (11:44), we also finished before dark!

The whole River to River experience is a perfect example of teamwork. We started with the basic tasks of registering the team, renting the van, organizing who is bringing what food, and reserving hotel rooms.

But the real teamwork was much more meaningful. We cheered each other on at each transition, made sure each runner had exactly what they needed before and after their legs, and celebrated our victory as a team. Our individual leg times were unimportant in the big scheme of things - what mattered was that we were a team and that we each contributed to our overall personal record.

Rarely does anyone achieve any meaningful success on their own. It takes the help of others not only to accomplish our goals, but also to make them worthwhile.

A huge thanks and congratulations to Lori, Joan, Kathy, Jane, Rob, Pat, and Ken. I’m ready for next year!

Women’s running pioneer, Kathrine Switzer, will be joining an all-star staff for the Women On the Move Conference and Retreat this August 13-15 in Spearfish, South Dakota. The Conference will be held in conjunction with the all-women’s Leading Ladies Marathon and Half-Marathon.

And, I’m very excited to invite you to join me for a LIVE Free Teleseminar with Kathrine on April 29, 2008. You can sign up for the teleseminar by visiting the Women On the Move website.

In 1967, Kathrine was the first woman to officially enter and run the Boston Marathon at time when this race was only open to male runners. Her entry caused such an uproar that a race official tried to physically pull her from the race course. Four decades later, Kathrine is still championing the cause of equal sports status for women.

I actually ran the inaugural Leading Ladies Marathon 3 years ago, and it is a beautiful mostly downhill course. You don’t have to run the race to attend the conference. Nor do you have to plan to attend the conference to be on the live teleseminar with Kathrine.

Be sure to check out the Women On the Move website and sign up for the free teleseminar.

I love to run. But this isn’t a blog about “running.” I run for health. I run for fun. I run for relaxation. I run to connect with nature. I run to socialize with friends. I run in the snow and ice of winter and the heat and humidity of summer. I run to train for races. I run for cool t-shirts and medals. I run to help other people achieve their goals.

Running is a metaphor for the way I do things - the way you do anything is the way you do everything. And what I have found is that whatever is happening in your external world is usually a reflection of what’s going on in your internal world.

Running just happens to be one of the things that I love to do, and the way I approach running is the way I approach everything else in my life. In my world of running, I…

• stay physically fit
• am enthusiastic
• am disciplined
• plan ahead
• persist until I succeed
• never give up
• commit to a goal
• help and encourage other people
• manage my time
• eat healthy
• connect with people
• break through barriers
• stay focused
• have a positive outlook on life
• finish what I start