Garbage Advice
Do you know a common piece of advice that is absolute garbage? There's a lot out there that should be filed away into the paper shredder. But here's my favorite. (Or least favorite?)It's total crap.
"Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life."
This paints a picture of a pie-in-the-sky view of life: you can avoid everything you hate doing. That's just not true. Most things involve annoying tasks like email and expense reports. And if you delegate those things, now you're dealing with people, which is no cakewalk. There is no path forward without some friction.
But, there's a grain of truth that we all gravitate towards. To do something consistently means you must enjoy it to some degree. And that is the theme of this week's Run One Mile.
🤔 The OG
There's this guy named Lazarus Lake... err, no. His name is Gary Cantrell. But everyone calls him Laz. Sense the mystery yet?
This guy is the OG ultra runner. When modern ultrarunning was barely a thing, with only a few races a year, he would run in them. This is back in the 70's. The entire ultramarathon community was on one email list, and he was quite the figure in that group.
He ran for years and years. He has a big map of Tennessee where he colors in all the roads and trails he's run. The map is 10+ feet long.
Then, he discovered he loved race directing. So he does that now. He's been quietly race directing for years, doing what he loves in relatively small towns in Tennessee.
And then, someone with a camera caught wind of the Barkley Marathons. This race has an unknown start time, a secret application process, books for course markers that you must rip pages out of to prove you made it, and a lot more nonsense. You can watch the whole thing below this weekend. It'll blow your absolute mind.
Laz went from known. To unknown. To an ultrarunner household name.
Here's the lesson: Do what you love, and eventually, the whole world might take notice. Or not. But you'll still have done what you love.
🏃🏻♂️ Consistency in Training
Which brings me to my training thought for the day: You have to love it, or you won't do it. Running isn't the be-all and end-all for everyone. For others, it's hiking, biking, jiu-jitsu, ballet, climbing, yoga, lifting, or something else.
Whatever you love, you can get bored with it. So, intentionally keep things fresh. For running, it looks like:
- New Trails
- Run with a Friend
- Switch Up Music and Podcasts
- New Gear
- Different Time of Day
Just because you love something doesn't mean you don't get bored. Switch it up. See what happens!
Running Update - I'm about to hit 'Register' on the next race. Planning to keep it local with the Thrill in the Hills 50k at Fort Yargo. There's also a half marathon and five-mile option if you're around and want to run some beautiful trails in February!
Book Update - I've read through my entire book twice, plus I wrote it once. Therefore, I kind of hate it now. And... I'm really excited about it, too! I am really proud to have a finished draft of what I think is a collection of really compelling thoughts and ideas that will be helpful to people.
Off to editing, we go.
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Just run one mile... because one mile inevitably turns to two... Then, to three... And before you know it, you're running further than you ever dreamed. See you on the trails! 🤙🏻
