I just had huge realization. It hit me kind of hard – and I must say that I am relieved. It really helped me to take a pretty big burden off my shoulders.

I just realized that the first 10% are always the hardest and both mentally and physically the toughest. After the first 10%, you’re in the groove, and you just go with it. You follow the next natural step all the way to the end.

Am I speaking in code? Let me explain. When I go for a run, the biggest step I have to climb first is by far getting into my shorts and out of the door. When I have done that, running is the natural thing to start doing. And the first 10% of that run is always the hardest.

It’s in those first 10% that the little voice inside my head says to me that it is a silly idea to exercise now – it’s cold, it’s dark and I have better things to do.

If I can fight that little voice for the first 10%, I have beaten it. Sure, he tells me to stop when it hurts and I can’t breathe, and he says I need to slow down when I am going all out in a sprint at the end. But here, my momentum has built for so long that there is no way in hell that I listen to him.

It’s only in those first 10% that he has any power

That little voice has nothing to say after the first 10%.

So what does that really mean? It means that half the battle is deciding that you want to do something, and then taking the first step. The rest is not that hard – it will just come to you. It’s those first 10% that takes creativity, ambition, strength and decisiveness.

It’s not only related to working out and physical activities.

It’s related to everything.

Walking up to that girl you find cute is much harder than actually talking to her and flirting with her when you are with her.

To shut off the TV and start doing your homework is much harder than actually doing your homework.

You get the point.

It’s all an illusion

The way your mind works is often by figuring out the worst possible scenario, and then preparing you for it by showing it to you internally. That’s why you can see a picture of yourself getting slapped in the face by a girl, just for walking over and talking to her before actually doing it.

Or why you see yourself crying in the corner of your room after your girlfriend has broken up with you – before she even has.

These pictures are very seldom showing the truth.

They are showing twisted pictures of reality, just so you won’t by any chance get hurt. It’s all a defence mechanism. If you are safe right now, your body really does not want you to try new things. What could you possibly gain?

Doing the stuff you know well is the safe choice. It’s dull, but easy.

Your body doesn’t really care about things like happiness and joy. All it cares about is safety for you and your offspring. Your genes just want to survive!

But I know that you think differently. You want to do things, explore things, enjoy things. And that my friend, takes guts.

Back to the 10%

You are nervous before the race – but when you’re racing, you’re just racing.

The next time you want to do something, but you are doubting whether or not to do it, try thinking about those first 10%.

What do you need to do to get started? Pack your bags? Make that phone call?

Before starting, it always helps to have a clear idea on what you need to do get from point A to point B – with point A being where you are now, and point B being where you want to be.

If you do that, and you overcome the first 10%, you can already see the finish line.

Images by WayTru, jon- and Jenny P. Thanks!

9.58 seconds – the new world record in the 100m sprint. Possibly the biggest single event in track and field in the last 50 years.

9.58 seconds moves that line for what is possible. It was moved at Usain Bolt’s 9.69, and now he did it again. Only better. 0.11 seconds is the best improvement on the 100m world record since electronic timing entered the scene in 1968.

Now, this may not be a big thing for someone not interested in sports at all, but for us of us who are, it is a big thing. It’s a huge thing.

As this is not a blog about fantastic sports accomplishments (although that would be pretty darn cool), this post is not really about Usain Bolt and his world record.

This post is about hope and breaking (your own) expectations.

Sometimes, something extraordinary happens. For a typical male in the 21st century, it might be a perfect night ending with going home with the queen of the party. It could also be a fantastic job promotion, or experiencing the joy of seeing your son for the first time.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not comparing these events, but they can all feel almost divine or holy. Like you ‘suddenly see the light’. Call it religious mumbo-jumbo, I don’t care… Think back, you know what I’m talking about. It comes in different degrees.

Anyway, I like to see that kind moment as a ‘sign from god’.
(Ahhh, the superstitious dude talking again, right? Just listen to me for a second and it’ll make sense.)

I like to see those moments as opportunities given by something or someone that is larger than ourselves. A chance or a test, so to speak.

So really, this post is about you grabbing that chance when it opens up to you. It might be a little confusing right now, but I’ll tie the ends together, hang on.

You can also experience that kind of motivation while watching a movie or reading a book – it’s actually quite common. You get filled with a sudden surge or rush of positive thoughts on all kinds of good things you could do right when you get out of the movie theatre, or lay the book away or whatever.

Now it comes together. This is what Usain Bolt taught me last night. You have to grab that chance when it shines. It might be there for just a few seconds – that divine inspiration. But you must decide to act upon it.

I could have written the same post the day Obama truly got elected for president in the United States. It’s the same kind of thing. It shows us what’s possible and really should inspire us to be the best we can be in the present moment (and maybe even to be extraordinary!)

So to recap:

The next time you’re filled with a surge of motivational feelings, act on them! Follow the ‘divine’ advice within even if it scares you. See it as a form of enlightenment.

You might get it from an event like the 9.58 world record, or you might get it from a post like this. It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you follow your heart when you’re filled with inspiration, even if it’s just for a few seconds. Don’t throw it away as something silly. Follow your dream (cliché, but true).

This really was it from me. I’m working at the moment on getting the discussion board converted to a much more powerful, sleek and sexy system called Invision Power Board. So look forward to that.

If you haven’t seen it already, take a look at the 100 meter race embedded below. If I can’t inspire you to do something great, I sure hope the Lightning Bolt himself can…

(An Italian version was the best version I could find)

I hope this served as a little Tuesday inspiration bit.

I’ll talk to you soon,
Alex

Image by friskytuna.

Things started off bad

I leave home at 08.30, the race is going to start in roughly an hour. I don’t have a car, and there’s around 5 kilometres to the starting area, so I decide to take my bicycle. But I had a struck of bad luck. I had a flat tire 600 meters away from home on my bicycle, so I had to run back and change to my sons bicycle, and then get to the starting area in time.

When I finally got there, I was very late. The race was going to start in 5 minutes, and still I hadn’t got my chip, I hadn’t changed clothes and I hadn’t warmed up. Shit!

I just threw the bike away, tried to find the chip spot, got the chip, fastened it to my shoelaces, stripped off my clothes, threw them into a plastic bag in a corner, prayed that I would find it again and ran to the starting line.

As the announcer called all 3.000 runners to take their positions, I was stressed out. I had not warmed up physically, and mentally I wasn’t ready at all.

Go straight to the 5 Things I’ve Learned »

The race

0-1 km: Bang! It´s 09:30 in the morning. Off we go, and I just try not to step and run into other people. I find myself trapped behind three big ladies, wearing T-shirts saying “Walking is as good as running”. Do I need to say they were walking…erhhh…quite slowly?

1-2 km: A little more room now. I focus on finding my normal running pace, thinking about how I extend my legs, lifting my pelvis to an upright position, keeping my shoulders low and remembering to breathe.

2-3 km: I run. Things are working, and as we are running through the outskirts of the city, and the morning sun fights it´s way through the clouds, I feel alive and happy.

3-4 km: We are now a small group of people running at the same pace, and I notice a guy running in a T-shirt saying “I run for the police, not from the police”. That´s a good statement. There’s another guy with a T-shirt saying: “As long as I´m out running, I don´t have to stay at home with my wife”. The cobblestones of the city have now changed into concrete. Nice, I like concrete, it gives you good friction and you won´t slip even if has been raining.

4-5 km: I feel just right. Legs are working, lungs are pumping, I check my watch and see that I have been using 4,40 minutes per kilometre up until now, it´s all according to plan. I have just begun to run, and my body is fully awake, I´m not sweating, I´m not thirsty and everything is just perfect. No wind, no rain, no sun, and that girl a few meters in front of me have beautiful long legs and the most perfect (…) to focus at.

5-6 km: As we enter a stretch of somewhat slippery concrete with some sand on top of it (this is an area where the city is building the new headquarters of the national broadcasting company, and they also plan for a new line of the subway) I for the first time notice that I´m a little hot. A small streak of sweat lingers on my forehead, and finds its way into the corner of my eye.

6-7 km: For the first time, I notice my legs. They work all right, but I can now feel them. I feel the impact from the concrete working its way into my lower legs through the knees and into my thighs, pelvis and lower back and of course, stomach. I had the perfect runner’s breakfast: One cup of coffee without milk, one bowl of oat meal with milk and frozen strawberries and a dash of sugar on top, one leaf of bread with Nutella. But still: The contents of my bowel are now telling me that they don’t like to be twisted from side to side.

7-8 km: We now enter a long stretch. It´s stretching for about 3 kms ahead, slightly upwards and the wind has been picking up from nowhere. This is not funny, knowing that everything you can expect for the next 15 or so minutes is just pacing upwards, keeping the rhythm and ignoring the very normal thoughts saying “Why do you do this?. This is stupid. Just stop. Go home. Read a book. Go get a cup of coffee…

8-9 km: Thinking about getting home and relaxing with the paper. Running alone. No girls to look at, but legs and stomach have gotten used to these new terms of activity now. I am slightly bored.

9-10 km: I now leave the upward stretch and enter a forest area, but the wind keeps on pushing from the left. Disturbing, but at least I don’t feel it coming right into my face anymore. There is a control post, and I use 20 seconds to grab a glass of Powerade and a glass of water. I have been running for almost 44 minutes now, and just getting 20 seconds of rest is nice. At 10 kilometres, my watch says 43 minutes and 30 seconds.

10-11 km: This race is not for those who need new horizons. No, the second part of the race is actually the first part all over again. This is both good and bad: You know the path but you also know what to expect. I feel fine: Legs are ok, lungs and stamina are fine, but I notice a small pain in my back, just where my kidneys are. There is a theory, saying that you will get pain from your kidneys while running, as they get more oxygen-enriched blood pumped into them, and as this is new to them, they protest, like all parts of the body being exposed to something new.

11-12 km: Just running. I notice one guy, who got off at an alarmingly high speed at the start, about my age but maybe a little bigger and heavier. He is having severe difficulties, panting and sweating. His face is very red, and he looks to be in pain. I guess he just started out too fast. Running for more than a few kilometres requires that you find your pace, and not running faster than your body can keep up to. If he manages to fulfil the race, he will be in bad hurting for the next 45 to 55 minutes, and if he is in bad shape, this will give him either very sore muscles for the next couple of days or, if his very unlucky, a stroke.

12-13 km: I´m just flying! Now, this is the way you´re supposed to feel while running. I keep my 4 minutes and 30 seconds per kilometre, and it is a gratifying feeling to pass those runners who set off so happily almost an hour ago. I recognize a few of them: The bodybuilder guy, the thin stepmother pushing 60 and the guy being the star of the company runners club. They all thought that if you just give it all you got from the start, you could make it to the end. But they couldn´t.

13-14 km: The sun makes its entrance again. Disturbing, but I try to keep in the shade, and grab another cup of water. I try to keep my legs long and relaxed, and try to keep my shoulders low. A lot of the runners I pass and see are way too tense. Running is a natural thing, this is what our bodies are supposed to do, and its stupid to be tense about something natural. I feel fine, and I look at the sky, the clouds, I feel the wind slowing down and think about what to eat as soon as I reach the finish line.

14-15 km: Wham! It just hits me, as a sudden rush of alcohol dispensing in your blood. My legs suddenly feel tired; the pain that I ignored from my kidneys is back and I´m actually sweating now. My t-shirt, which was cool and dry, as now soaked with sweat and somewhat heavy.

15-16 km: I again experience that long boring slightly upward stretch, with the wind again challenging my whole body, now at an even more sturdier strength. This hurts. I try, I really try to keep my pace, but it is hard to keep your spirits high, when all you see is… 2 kilometres more of running against the wind. It’s hard, it’s brutal.

16-17 km: Now I notice that I do run slower. I try, I do try, but legs, body and mind don’t answer to my prayers. I´m not keeping the 4 minutes and 30 seconds pace per kilometre right now, but clock myself at 5 minutes per kilometre. I don’t like this anymore.

17-18 km: Finally, I reach the woods again, but the last 3 kilometres have robbed me of a lot of energy. My feet are OK, but my left calf is burning, cramping, and my whole left leg says “Stop now. Why do you do this?”. Lungs are OK, I´m not really sweating anymore, but I´m really thirsty. Luckily, there is a waterhole coming up, and I use 30 seconds getting a glass of water and 30 beautiful seconds of rest for my left leg.

18-19 km: So, this is what it has come to. Pain. So stupid, that my body can do it, my lungs and brain and stomach can do it, but my left calf can´t do it. I run on, but this really hurts now. But still, if I just keep on this pace, I will be seeing the finishing line in about 15 minutes. That feels nice!

19-20 km: I get some help. A guy (thanks to you, whoever you are and if you ever read this!) runs up to me and says “Yeah, I know it hurts, I hurt to. But in 10 minutes this is all over with. Why not finish in style? Follow me!” And he just runs off, in a blaze of energy. And I follow. I run again, not actually feeling my feet, my hurting calf or my kidneys anymore.

20-21 km: I spurt at an 4 minutes per kilometre pace up to the sign saying “These are the last 400 metres” and those 400 metres are just so nice to enter. I run between high rises, the harbour, I see the spectators, hear the cheers and suddenly I see the finishing line. As I pass, I get this stupid feeling of being to slow, why didn´t I run faster? But still, this it what it comes down to. If I could have run faster, I would have. But I didn´t. My result gets to be 1 hour, 43 minutes and 33 seconds. And that´s all right by me. I just relax, get a cup of soup and a slice of bread, and feel very very proud. I did it.

The preparations

There are different theories about how to be a good runner. Some say, that to be able to run long distance, you have to run long distances, and others say, that running that long will cause damage and not strengthen but exhausting your muscles.

I believe in both. So my training programme for this event was running for 7-10 kilometres 3 times a week, and during one of these runs using interval training, including parkour-style training like running up stairs, jumping up and down from benches and rocks, that way strengthening the joints and ligaments in my feet and legs. I began this programme roughly 10 weeks before the race. It is probably also a good idea just once to run for lets say 15-17 kilometres, just to get that “I can!” feeling. If you can run for 15 kilometres, you can run for 21.

So if you´re aiming at running the marathon, my simple but useful tips must be doubling my amount of kilometres, and combine it with a few very long trips, but not more often than once a month. And don’t forget to do other activities like weightlifting, boxing, playing football and swimming once in a while.

That will give you a more balanced body mass in the first place, and secondly, women usually don´t find ultra thin long distance runners super attractive. And maybe most important of all: your mind needs distraction and a little play, not only the steady pace of running alone.

5 things I’ve learned from this race

1. Come well prepared and make sure you arrive to the race in time to stretch out, warm up and mentally convincing yourself that this will be a great experience.
2. When starting out, my strategy with starting quite slowly, letting the body getting adjusted at its own pace, worked just fine. I was not really physically tired at the end, but more annoyed from the pain.
3. The 20 to 30 seconds breaks for slowing down and getting water is well spent time, It´s really hard to drink while running and you will either way slow your pace while drinking. So get that short rest and drink properly. Take your time to smile and say thank you to that kind person giving you your drink.
4. At the end of the race, I forgot to focus at the kilometres left behind; I forgot to be happy about what I had achieved. If I had been better at this, I would probably finished better and maybe not that focused at the pain. This is an important learning.
5. I now know that 21 kilometres surely requires some training and preparations to be run properly, but I didn´t really use that much time to the project. If I would invest some real time into running, running the real thing, the marathon, should be within reach 6 months. I am not sure yet, but I do feel a little tempted…

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Health

1. Bones
The human bones are made to accommodate the demands placed upon them. When just sitting all day long, at the office, in the car, in front of the TV, we allow our bones to grow weaker. But if you run regularly, they meet resistance, which will lead to stronger bones.

2. Heart
Getting your heart pumping a little faster for let’s say 30 minutes every day, and especially if you also include interval training is something your doctor, and not to forget you, will thank yourself for later. Training your heart and strengthening your cardiovascular system will lower your pulse while resting and sleeping; therefore also make you more fit to handle stress.

3. Balance
When running outdoors, you have to avoid and deal with curbs, dogs, stones, branches and other miscellaneous objects. These changes in direction and speed will strengthen your balance, so next time you stand in front of the door with 3 shopping bags and need to unlock your door with your key, this everyday manoeuvre will feel easier to handle.

Appearance

4. Posture
If you run the right way, you quite automatically will lower your shoulders, use your arms to help pumping energy into your running pace and tilt your pelvis a little forward. All of this will raise your head and prolong your spine. So instead of looking like some sad, bent slave at the office, you are now a runner with your eyes set at the horizon, always looking for a challenge.

5. Waistline
Running uses a lot of energy, and few other sports or activities are more efficient if you want to drop, let’s just say 10 pounds from your waistline. And especially if you include a few extra exercises while running, like suddenly running up a hill, or jumping over low fences parkour-style, you soon need to get down to your nearest mall for a new pair of trousers.

6. The sun
When running outside, naturally the sun will sometimes stop by and say hello, rewarding you with a healthy color, to match your new slim and fit you.

Psychological

7. Yes, I can!
Ok, I won’t lie to you. It’s not easy at first. You will experience a burning sensation in your chest (it’s your lungs getting surprised), possibly a new sort of pain in your feet and legs (wow, we have to work now!) and you might get a headache, a pain in your back – or easily said, everything in your body might protest against this new lever of activity. But after a few trips, your body will adjust, and what seemed impossible (run 15 miles? Are you nuts?) Will soon be something you can easily manage. The first time you reach the goal you have set, you will be surprised how you feel. Ever heard of “runners high”? Get out there and experience it for yourself.

8. I believe I can fly
There is something about running that just feels right. Something eternal, like being a tough Greek from ancient times, that could run for days, without even getting exhausted. Running means beating the normal pace of the city, and very few things feels better than beating the bus in regards of getting from A to B – just watch those losers sitting stuck in traffic.

9. Endurance
Sometimes it will rain. Your foot might ache. You feel tired, and the wind is blowing in the wrong direction. But you still keep running, and after another dreadful 25 minutes you enter your destination and relax. So, tomorrow morning, when you have to wait a few extra minutes for the elevator, or the meeting drags on for an extra hour, who cares? I mean, remember yesterday evening. That was tough, this is nothing! You kind of take the sexy “who cares” attitude on you.

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