Monday, September 21, 2009

It's not a fail, it's an opportunity

At Beloved Summer Job, my boss's, boss's, boss would not allow us to say "fail" - he said it was an opportunity, you just had to look for it. While at first it seemed like just a silly phrase of encouragement, he did have a good point. Almost (and yes, we had a couple of true "fails") every "fail" has an opportunity masked somewhere in it. You just have to think about it, and in some cases, think about it for a while. Here are two recent running-related "opportunities"
*My 18 miler a few weeks ago was really hard - one of the hardest runs I've done excluding the marathon. I had to go really slow, and was filled with a lot of doubt along the way. While I made it through the whole thing (I had to go through the anonymous "Don't Quit" poem a few times in my head), I still thought it was a failure. However, once I sat down 2 weeks after and re-evaluated the run, I realized the problems that occurred with the layout of the course. I switched things around when I mapped out my 20 miler. That run was successful because I thought things through my "fail".
*After my 7 miler this morning, I did not have time for breakfast, and lunch just seemed to far away. I knew I needed something, so I thought I would try "Muscle Milk," which is supposed to help aid with recovery. Gross! Definitely not what I thought it was going to taste like. At first, I thought big fail - four bucks I'll never see and grossness. But it was my opportunity to learn that recovery drinks are not for me, even if other people recommend them.

So, Andrew, here's to you. Thank you for teaching me to look for the opportunity beyond every fail. I'll keep looking...

4 comments:

  1. Eating a small snack with carbs and protein will do just as well as most recovery drinks. Chocolate milk is reported to do great, as is yogurt.

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  2. I wish I could post
    The famed activity grid
    Right here, right now. Fail.

    Hey, that reminds me, I should post some Beloved Summer Job pictures online someday. That's a guaranteed opportunity for everyone to laugh at everything all over again.

    I think more blogs should have posts dedicated to Andrew...especially our blogs that he doesn't know about!

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  3. Don't give up on recovery drinks just yet—your muscles need some replenishment! When is race day? Soon, yes?

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  4. I haven't given up on them completely - I just gotta find the right one. The Marine Corps Marathon is just over a month away - October 25th (it's a Sunday).

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