Things not going too well.

Unfortunately I haven't run since my last blog post. My chest infection is taking its time to clear up; a short, slow test jog a few days ago resulted in a huge coughing fit, so I am going to leave it another week before I head out again.  

I'm using all this spare time to do a bit of planning and reading. My revised training plan is a work of art. It reminds me of the revision timetables I used to make at school. I just wish I had implemented them. 

I have been re-reading 'Running the Edge' by Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano. I gave it a bad write up on the getrunning website, but thought it deserved another chance. I came across a very useful and thought provoking few sentences. 

 "Running is a different kind of addiction. It can help build lives rather than destroy them. It is an addiction many people try to develop rather than break."  

 I know a few people that have had destructive addictions they have manage to eliminate by becoming committed runners.

 I then started to think about how you develop a good habit and my thoughts turned to financial services. Stay with me there is a point. I admitted last week that I was a Chartered Accountant; well this week's confession is even worse. When I left accountancy practice and moved into general management it was in financial management. (I'm finding blogging quite cathartic). Fortunately I worked in the mutual sector, where customers are the owners of the business, so treating them fairly was important. My first position was as Compliance Officer and I was responsible for making sure that the sales force only sold appropriate products to our members. One salesman sold far more than any of the others and I was concerned that he was either doing a rushed job or pressure selling. I monitored him closely and observed him in action on a number of occasions and learnt that he sold a lot because he did his job well. He did his job well because he had a passion for it and had thought about all the questions he might be asked and the reasons why people might not take his advice. He had prepared, in advance, responses to the questions and negative thoughts, so was able to deal with them effectively. He in effect had a massive toolbox full of solutions.

Applying that example to running means preparing responses to all the negativity that you might get from family, friends and yourself. You need a toolbox so you have the right to for the occasion. In the early stages of a running career it is difficult to develop the addiction and later on there is always the possibility of a relapse. You need to hammer home the good stuff, fix it when the wheels come off, pump yourself up when you are a bit deflated, keep things tight, in short nail it.