The Dragon Runner

Reflections on Motivation & Planning

4 Mar 2019

As I reflect on my experiences of the first quarter of 2019 I find personal successes of which I am very proud. These help to inspire me to continue challenging myself, to become a better & healthier version of myself.

• I am very happy with my diet. I am comfortable with the ketogenic way of eating for weight loss, and I am not craving the high carbohydrate foods I have ditched. The challenge of preparing old favourite meals in new ways has been fun.
• I am also very happy with my parkrunning. I have visited a lot of different events in 2019 & with my next tourist parkrun I will enter the parkrun global most events list. My improving finish times & recent volunteer roles have also been very gratifying.

Yet, at the same time I find myself facing other aspects where I have not been as successful. That is not to say I have failed, but I know within myself that I certainly have room for improvement. By themselves statistics do not always convey the full picture, however I cannot argue with these - they show that I have not been sufficiently motivated.

	Average Daily Steps	Running Distance
Oct 2018	8,949	19.4 km
Nov 2018	12,890	20.7 km
Dec 2018	10,664	55.4 km
Jan 2019	7,925	42.8 km
Feb 2019	9,029	54.8 km
Mar 2019	9,139	34.5 km

"Those who have had success... have been internally motivated. They have sought to find and expand their limits, wherever they may be. They have had a personal, deep desire for that experience regardless of any external opinions."
- John Kelly, Barkley Marathons Finisher 2017

John Kelly wrote this with specific references to the Barkley Marathons - a renowned & almost impossible ultramarathin event, one of the toughest ever devised. Since 1986 when it was first run there have been only 15 runners who have finished from the hundreds who have tried. John Kelly is the most recent after the course defeated the entire field in both 2018 & 2019.

I respect his achievements & his advice. I believe we can all benefit from it, and I find that it sits very well alongside my mantra of #challengeyourself #pushlimits #becomebetter.

"You're never a loser until you quit trying."
- Mike Ditka, NFL Hall of Fame recognised player, coach & commentator

This quote touches on another aspect of my mantra #dowhatittakes #nevergiveup & is the area where I have been wavering the most. I have recently been struggling to to answer my own questions about why I want to continue running, & as a result I have not been running as often as I had been. In light of John Kelly's quote above, I have not been internally motivated & hence I have not been expanding my personal limits.

Since I refuse to give up, I will find a way.

"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around & give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it."
- Michael Jordan, NBA Legend

"Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement."
- Matt Biondi, Olympic Gold Medal winning swimmer & Former World Record Holder

The first step from here is to make a plan. I need to find running events that can capture my interest, to help rekindle my desire. Events that I want to do. For me. Along the way I will begin to include other runs such as events that I have done many times before or events that friends have chosen to do.

In this spirit I will recommence my journey this week.

6 Apr: The Beaches parkrun & St George cross country
7 Apr: Lindfield Rotary Fun Run

The Beaches parkrun is hosting the 2nd annual parkrun Adventurers Podcast Listerner Meetup this weekend, & I can think of no better way to bring up my 20th venue & enter the global most events list for parkrun tourists. The Lindfield Rotary Fun Run is an event that I have been aware of for several years but have never entered.

As I begin to build a list of events for the remainder of the year I am tempted by these events. There is a good mixture of new events for me, as well as a variety of surfaces & distances.

28 Apr: Oatley Park Fun Run
5 May: Sri Chinmoy Royal National Park
11 May: My 100th parkrun at Shellharbour
26 May: Bulli Burn
1 Jun: Western Sydney Marathon
15 Jun: Sri Chinmoy Track Marathon
23 Jun: Cooks River Fun Run
30 Jun: Woodford to Glenbrook
14 Jul: Festival Of The Feet
21 Jul: Sutherland 2 Surf
28 Jul: Mountain to Mountain
18 Aug: Wagga Wagga Marathon
25 Aug: Dubbo Stampede
22 Sep: Forster Running Festival
6 Oct: Beach To Brother
27 Oct: Mt Panorama Punish
3 Nov: Carcoar Running Festival
17 Nov: Jervis Bay Marathon
25 Dec: Christmas parkrun

There is of course an irony in preparing this list - that each of the factors that attract me to these events are external motivations.

In order for me to internalise motivation & truly improve as a runner I have decided to challenge myself to run faster. Whilst it is highly unlikely that I will ever be as fast as I was when I was 20 years old, I can challenge myself to better my times of the last decade. My goals are thus:

3km: 14m 49s which I set on 9 April 2009 in a Southside Masters track race
5km: 24m 53s which I set on 25 June 2009 in a Southside Masters track race
10km: 54m 48s which I set on 26 June 2008 in a Southside Masters track race
21.1km: 2h 6m 44s which I set on 7 June 2009 at the Macleay River Marathon
42.2km: 5h 26m 58s which I set on 19 April 2009 at the Canberra Marathon

#reset #refocus #rebuild #health #fitness #wellness #beactive #challengeyourself #pushlimits #becomebetter #dowhatittakes #nevergiveup #metime #newlife #fitter #faster #stronger #jorg #upandrunning

March Events

Date	Event	Time	Temp & Elevation	Weight
March 9	Kamay parkrun	35m 35s	18c ~ 64m	101.4kg
March 10	Shell Cove Fun Run (9km)	67m 15s	22c ~ 113m	100.5kg
March 16	Shellharbour parkrun	38m 11s	19c ~ 72m	99.9kg
March 23	Lochiel parkrun	34m 21s	21c ~ 21m

March Statistics

Running: 34.4km	Walking: 41.5km	Cycling: 34.7km	Steps: 283,326	Weight: 1.7kg loss
YTD: 131.6km	YTD: 86.6km	YTD: 40.4km	YTD: 787,349	YTD: 12.2kg loss