If you Haven’t Done the Training, Don’t Do the Marathon

August 21st, 2007 by Simone

Ever year when the City to Surf Marathon signs are put up in the neighbourhood, I get a quiver of anticipation. Maybe this is the year when I’ll be pulling on the trainers and getting out with the pack.

But then reality hits. The signs are only put up in the last few weeks preceding the event and my training regime has had an even shorter lifespan. Rather than “getting out with the pack” I have a pretty good inclination that I will probably be watching the pack flash by from the same vantage point as last year - coffee, slippers and muffin on my front balcony.

Not a very good thing for an “inspiration advocate” to admit, I suppose you are thinking. But other than that initial flare of anticipation, running the City to Surf has no real impact on my life. In short, I don’t really want to do it.

This lack of enthusiasm isn’t a short-coming in my book, because there is a long list of other goals that I am pursuing with fervour. The marathon simply cannot compete!

This leads me to my latest gripe:

Why do people expect amazing changes in their life, without doing the hard yards to earn them?

I think there are two influences at play here:

The belief that change is easy – Another of my known gripes (I have a few!) is the modern perception that anyone can do anything, without having to break a sweat. This is the “get rich on your lunchbreak” movement, selling false hope in the form of magic pills and formulas. Surrounded by pictures of “before” and “after” shots, it’s no wonder we all think we can change our weight, IQ, personal wealth and relationship status – without having to leave the house!

The reality that the change isn’t really wanted – Just like my marathon fantasies, many people think they want something, but their passion for it cannot navigate the natural obstacles to getting it. The process of identifying their personal goals has led to misleading results. And who can really blame them when what is “in” changes on a daily basis!

Let’s look at an example. A friend of mine has said for a number of years that she wants to buy her own house. She often looks wistfully at pictures in the window of the local real estate agency and comments enviously on her sister’s renovation of her duplex. But does she want to do the marathon without putting in the training?

I scream “YES!” from the sidelines and this is why…

My Guide to Owning Your Own Home (and my friend’s responses):

Me: You need to do your research – discover current home prices, interest rates, mortgages, real estate agencies, shire fees…
Friend: It’s too depressing. Everything is too expensive and I just know that if I buy now, the bottom will fall out of the market…
Me: You need to make some contacts: real estate agents, mortgage agents, current residents…
Friend: They’re either too pushy or they don’t want to know about me unless I have a wad of cash in my hand…
Me: You need to get your finance sorted out - examine your assets, start saving, investigate loans and grants…
Friend: It’s all too confusing. Just looking at my savings account sends me into shock and none of the banks will touch me with my credit history…

Get the picture? The reality is that even if my friend really does want to buy her own house, she doesn’t want it badly enough. She looks at her sister’s renovation and sees only the new bathroom and doesn’t recognise the mortgage, the visits to the hardware store, the dirty dungarees or anything else that is hard reality.

And the hard reality is that for every goal that we truly want to achieve there are commitments that we have to make and keep.

So, if you really want to run a marathon, when the signs go up in your neighbourhood, start training that very day – for next year’s race!!

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