Runners

JULY 2018 RUNNERSWORLD.CO.UK 059Few things were betterafter training than sitting at my coach’s kitchencounter while he made Posole, a spicy Mexicanstew that warmed you through to your bones.One day, as Coach [Joe] Vigil moved from thestove to the sink, he asked, ‘Do you know who JimFixx is?’ Before I could answer, he disappearedinto his office and returned with a hard copyof The Complete Book of Running, featuring aman’s muscular legs mid-stride, wearing redASICS Tiger shoes against a red cover. The bookhad been published in 1977, during the earlystages of the first running boom. By then, theNew York City Marathon, the Falmouth RoadRace, the Peachtree Road Race and other raceshad started pulling more people into the sport.In his bestselling book, Fixx wrote about howrunning transformed him from an overweight,two-packs-a-day smoker into a healthier andhappier person. His everyman story and practicaladvice were credited with helping the runningboom explode.I skimmed it. I wasn’t interested in readingabout training, gear or injuries. I trustedthat Coach Vigil would guide my physicaltraining, but my mind was my own. It felt young,``````claim of power. Power simply was and its strength emanated. Force, on theother hand, was always met with a counterforce. It had opposition, another forcepushing back, and that can lead to collision and damage. It made me think ofrunning in university, where I’d forced myself to train against the needs of mybody and the willingness of my mind, and had ended up injured and burnedout. To train powerfully, I needed to give myself the time to adapt; not force thefitness, but build it.``````THE ROAD TO SELF-IMPROVEMENTI was fascinated by these books. I wanted to dive deeper into the study of themind. I wanted to dog-ear pages, highlight passages and write in the margins,so I handed Coach back his books and bought my own. The Way of the PeacefulWa r r ior, The Closing of the American Mind and The Power of Positive Thinkingall pointed to the same thing: the power of thought, attitude and perspective. Allthese books confirmed for me that the mind was essential in performance. Ourthoughts can either stif le or draw out our physical potential.My practical application of this began in earnest after reading The Power ofPositive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. Peale was a pastor in New York Citywho often sprinkled his sermons with ideas on perspective. Most of the literatureon positive thinking at the time – 1952 – was academic. Peale’s book covered real-life anecdotes and practical tools, helping to popularise positive thinking. Hisadvice on staying focused on ‘today’ – the moment right in front of us – reinforcedCoach’s common refrain of giving one task your full attention. Peale wrote aboutthe effects of word choice on our perception, which encouraged me to look atwords that frequented my vocabulary: ‘hard’, ‘cold’ and ‘tired’. Replacing thosewords with ‘challenging’, ‘tough’ and ‘adapting’ provided a greater feeling ofstrength and purpose.As I read, a line jumped out: ‘Our happiness depends on the habit of mind``````undiscovered and I sensed there was potentialwithin it to unlock. So I asked Coach for self-helpbooks, the only term for mental training I knew atthe time. Coach loaded me up with a large stack,and in between running and working shifts ata cafe, I curled up with a cup of coffee andread. The Celestine Prophecy spoke about ourrelationship with nature. I thought about howtrees and mountains inspired me, how naturewas uplifting and that if we moved among itconsciously, we could feel its strength. Power vs.Force by David R Hawkins was about the natureof power. Hawkins explained that true powerwas subtle. It rose from meaning and purposeand required no f launting, no explanation, no``````we cultivate.’ I highlighted the sentence and put three exclamation marks inits margin. I saw so clearly that Coach had the habit of a positive attitude. Inrepeatedly telling me to bring a good attitude to practice, he was trying to instilthe same in me. Habits are developed through repetition, so instead of focusingon my attitude periodically, I set out to make thinking positively a practice.The next morning, I noted that I usually woke thinking about how heavy mybody felt, and slogged through the kitchen making coffee half-asleep. I onlywoke up mentally after taking my dog Aspen outside. So the following morning,I replaced thoughts of fatigue with ‘Let’s take Aspen out.’ My energy shifted rightaway. By pulling my attention away from sleepiness and onto a task, I was alreadymore alert. Outside, instead of standing on the porch with my arms crossedwaiting for Aspen, I noticed the crispness of the morning and the light comingup. Back inside, I was alert in the kitchen. I added a dash of cinnamon to thecoffee grounds, enjoying the process and pleased at having turned a previouslymundane task into something pleasurable.``````WINNERChicago Marathon,2005 ; LondonMarathon, 2006 ;Olympic bronze medal,Marathon, Athens 2004``````US RECORDS*Marathon 2:19:36``````Half marathon 1:07:34Road 10 mile 51:3 1Road 15km 47:15Road 8km 24:36*All but the halfmarathon still stand``````Three-time USmarathon champion``````Five-time US 10,000mchampionTwo-time world cross-country silver medallist``````US MASTERS RECORDSHalf marathon 1:09:3615km 49:0310 miles 52:21``````20km 1:05:52All Philadelphia, 2014,aged 41Marathon 2:27:47,Chicago, 2015, aged 425K 15:48, San Jose,2015, aged 42.(Tied with ColleenDe Reuck)Habits are developed through repetition, so instead of focusing on myattitude periodically, I set out to make thinking positively a practicePHOTOGRAPH: HOLLY ANDRES (OPENER AND THIS PAGE)The Transformation IssueTougher