Author: Mary Ila Ward

Week 12 Mileage: 42-51 miles  (depending on how well you stick with the true plan)

Long Run Distance:  22 miles

 

I’m gearing up to run the longest run of the marathon training plan tomorrow, and I have to go it alone. This peak week of training happens to correspond with an out of town business trip.

And I am DREADING it.

Whereas a 3-4 mile run alone can be a refreshing experience, running 22 miles solo is just downright terrible in my opinion.  Who wants to do that alone?  There is not enough music and not enough podcasts to possibly get you through it.

All runners, and leaders, especially those out for the long hall, need a wingman, or four as in my case with our training group.  The more the merrier.

In an episode of The Runner’s World Show, Kirstin Armstrong describes the power of a “wingman” when it comes to running. It so worth the listen, and her words and the concept is very powerful indeed.

My wingwoman sent me this just a second ago as I prep for this solo run:

“You made it ok? Find a place to eat salmon tonight?  (Note from me: This the food we’ve decided sets the stage for a good long run based on much trial and error.  I did not eat salmon; I pigged out in a fit of hunger on something else).  If you get bored on the run, call me and we’ll chat! You got headphones? I’ll be working at home so you can call me anytime!”

Leader, do you have a wing(wo)man? Someone you can call at anytime, even when you know they are in the heat of work, and they give you permission ahead of time to interrupt them?  If not, get you one.  It makes the journey so much easier and way more enjoyable.

Here’s some food for thought on gaining some wing strength:

1. Join a leadership or professional group outside of your office (or a running group).   What professional association or local leadership group- check with your Chamber of Commerce- can you join to discuss topics and challenges so you aren’t out on your own?  Meet in person regularly and form relationships that allow you to pick up the phone and call someone when you need advice or support.
2. Get tapped in virtually through the same relevant groups online through LinkedIn or another platform.  You may not have ever meet these folks, but you can still reach out for advice and gain practical insights in a virtual setting.
3. Start a group on your own.  What leaders do you need to meet with regularly that will help keep you accountable and foster your growth and development?  And might a recommend that this group be cross-generational?   I can’t tell you how much valuable insight I’ve gained from two of our running group being two generations ahead of me and several steps wiser.

 

Who is at your wing?

 

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Week 11 Mileage: 35 miles

Long Run Distance:  15 miles

 

This week (tomorrow) we drop down to a 15-mile run for the long run. Our weekday runs also have dropped back too, with what has been a typical 9-10 mile Thursday run decreasing to seven this week.

We’re following a training plan from Runner’s World which gives us this “easy” week before next week, which is what I like to call “peak week” – a 22 mile long run, which pushes the weekly mileage close to 50 miles, before the taper three weeks before the marathon.

As I think about the need for this constraint on holding back this week, I’m reminded of the concept of the 20 Mile March in Jim Collin’s Great by Choice.

In Collin’s research on how companies thrive in the midst of a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world) a key driver he finds is “fanatic discipline” described through the concept of the 20 Mile March:

A good 20 Mile March uses performance markers that delineate a lower bound of acceptable achievement.  These create productive discomfort, much like hard physical training or rigorous mental development, and must be challenging (but not impossible) to achieve in difficult times.

A good 20 Mile March has self-imposed constraints. This creates an upper bound for how far you’ll march when facing robust opportunity and exceptionally good conditions. These constraints should also produce discomfort in the fact of pressures and fears that you should be going faster and doing more.

As I sit here writing, quite honestly, I want to be running. I feel like I haven’t done enough this week. I’m itching to get outside and go.

But like Collins describes with powerful research, those people and companies who push too hard and grow too fast end up, well, getting hurt.  This leads to setbacks far greater than if they followed the plan and resisted the urge to “overdue it”, as my dad is so famous for stating.

Discipline requires us to not only push forward towards challenge, but to hold back for the sake of longer lasting results.

 

Where do you need to hold yourself back in order to avoid injury?

 

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