ATHLETE’S PHILOSOPHY
2010 - I discovered my passion for [distance] running two years after moving to New York City - initially as a means to de-stress from long working hours, to an avenue for exploring the city, to a way to clear my thoughts, and finally to a personal focusing/re-focusing tool. And so, with the crazy year that 2010 was for me personally, running came to my rescue and eventually culminated in me running my first NYC Marathon (longest race prior to this was a 5k JPMorgan Corporate Challenge – unconventional to say the least).
I’ve completed over 75races in the 13years since – including seven marathons (all New York; with a personal record (PR) of 3hr 25min 02sec); four half-marathons (PR: 1hr 26min 29sec); six 10K’s (PR: 39min 05sec); seventeen 5milers (PR: 30min 39sec); eighteen 4milers (PR: 23:55); six 5K’s (PR: 18min 33sec); and eight 1miler sprints (PR: 04min 58sec). However, it’s still the below takeaways and lessons learned from my first marathon that left a lasting impact, formed the basis of an overall fitness philosophy, and ended up being adopted as my mantra for life in general.
1) Persistency.
2) The marathon as a metaphor for life - it's all about balancing the good with the bad…pacing oneself through the easy miles because of the knowledge that the course will get tougher, and hanging in there with the tough miles because of the knowledge that there will be easier miles to come, as well as the finish line!
3) What one does, does make a difference - positive or negative! We should strive to make the sum aggregate come out to be positive.
4) As I ran and high-fived/low-fived the kids along the course, I couldn't help but think how huge the marathon event must be from their perspective...and I knew in some small way that I'd passed on the torch and the passion for running!
5) I smiled the whole way through (even through the pain) not just because I'd resolved to enjoy the event, but because I wanted to make the marathon feel less daunting for anyone who happened to notice that here was a guy who had run so many miles and could still smile about it - and deciding for themselves that running 26.2 miles may not be so bad/difficult after all. Once one can reach this point of acknowledgement then the initial inertia from the thought of pain can be overcome. It is a hard race, but it is not an impossible feat to overcome...which means everyone can do it!!!
6) The randomness of seeing familiar faces in the crowd or hearing my name called out (especially since I didn't have my name visible) was absolutely priceless :)
7) Witnessing the humanity in us all, to want to help absolute complete strangers through difficulty...because everyone that came out to cheer recognized how hard this race would be and thought maybe their little cheer, ingenious signs, offers of fruits and candies, setting up their own personal water stations - would all help carry those runners to their end goal...the finish line!
8) Appreciating what one has...NYC is a great city to be in - for all its flaws, hardship, and the list can go on - it is a great city, with great people and if one can see this in the everyday, then one is on their way to making a success out of their time here!
In summary, my philosophy emphasizes - training smart (over training hard); incorporating variety; skewed towards long-term growth/longevity (over short term gains)…and lots of repetition! I utilize an organized and evidence-based approach to both my own personal fitness training and in the encouragement offered to aspiring and fellow runners - balanced by a care for each individual as a person first and a runner second. It’s also a holistic and multi-pronged approach prioritizing cross-training, nutrition, and rest.
This running section of the website is intended to grow into a place to share clear, accessible, and evidence-based information for runners of all capabilities and levels.
- Ayo [Runner & Athlete]
Disclaimer:
Please remember that I am not a personal trainer, registered dietician, or medical professional; views and ideas exchanged on here do not serve as dietary or medical advice.
