Running Revelations

Mike Monahan, Leadership: Are You Prepared?

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:15:00 +0000

The Revelations Have Returned

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:19:00 +0000

Its been awhile since I have had a Running Revelation, I guess that goes with the territory. Like previous posts NO Running, NO Revelations.

todays Revelation.

Label my numerous notebooks with categories.

I like to track my ideas but now I want to see what influences me.

I just labeled a notebook Running.

I have one on my nightstand I am going to title DayGest, like Digesting my day so I can sleep without worry of missing an idea.

Marathon Training Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:21:00 +0000

I just launched my marathon training schedule website.

I still need to add content but it's coming together.

I used the Xplosive Wordpress theme I used on my blog www.expertintherough.com

Expert in the Rough

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Sat, 31 May 2008 17:46:00 +0000

I wanted to share my latest venture, inspired by a 3.25 mile run. My latest adventure is Expert in the Rough. A blog for people who aspire to become known experts in their area of passion or expertise.

I came up with this idea about 3 weeks ago and have finally put in motion.

Take a look.

Expert in the Rough

No Running No Revelations

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 13:55:00 +0000

Since running the Marine Corps Marathon in October, I have run very little. Why? It's partly the cold, partly the boredom and partly the couch but whatever the reason it makes it hard to keep up with a blog about my "Running Revelations."

With my lack of running I won't say I am without Revelation but I really do have a different type of revelation or idea when I am running versus other times.

So when do you get your best ideas? I have to admit I am pretty much an idea machine. I am always thinking about my next book idea or blog post. These are my top idea sparking activities;

-The Shower
-Listening to Music
-Meeting new people
-Reading Blogs, Books and Magazines
-Doing something different from my routine

So make a list for yourself. I actually try to put myself in these places since I enjoy the buzz of a new idea.

Finding My Christmas Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 21:04:00 +0000

I just started a blog documenting my project to find my Christmas Spirit.

Take a peek at my "My 25 Days of Christmas"

A "Rock and a Heart Place"

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:39:00 +0000

No, I am not talking about the time between "Black Friday" and Christmas Eve, but a movie that touches the soul. "Rock and a Heart Place" is a documentary/movie about Tim McCloone and his creation the "Holiday Express."

The "Holiday Express" a band/charity was created by McCloone a Jersey Shore musician as way to liven up the experience of feeding the homeless. It was his idea in 1993 to form a group of musicians that would play a gig for those in need everyday between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Mike Sodano and Nancy Sabino the producers of this documentary have really created something special. What I most liked about this movie is it makes you want to do something (for somebody in need).

The reason I am sharing this with you is this movie has really touched my heart. I believe it will touch yours.

So, if you are finding yourself Caught Between A Rock and a Heart Place this holiday season here is why I think you should order a copy of this movie.

1) You say "It Just Doesn't Feel Like Christmas" this year. This movie will help.

2) You are looking for the perfect gift for the family. This movie is the answer, a movie for all ages.

3) You are dreading the malls. Order Right Now, in your underwear from home.

4) You are starting your own charity and are looking for inspiration.

5) Your grainy VHS Copy of "It's a Wonderful Life" just doesn't cut it on your 1080i 50" Plasma.

Take a chance on this one.

www.rockandaheartplace.com

Running Sucks

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 03:36:00 +0000

When I trained for my first marathon in 1997 I had a mantra to help me through my training.

It was "Running Sucks."

Not quite your typical Power of Positive thinking type mantra I must say. However, I found that when I was honest with myself that running does suck, it made it easier for me to get on with my training. You see although the running sucked. I wanted and decided to run that day. My goal at the end of the road transcended the fact that "Running Sucks."

Today I went out for my first run (outside the treadmill) since running the Marine Corps Marathon. I had a moment of clarity. I had remembered that "Running Sucks."

It was a relief. Now that I know the truth, I can just get on with it.

Are there any areas of your life you just need to get on with?

The Scorecard

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:01:00 +0000

In my car "Running Errands" today I had a glimpse of nostalgia.

How could it be? I am in my car driving and wishing I was running, as I cross paths with my marathon training routes, another marathon is calling my name.

I never thought I would miss my marathon training. It is a beautiful day for a run.

I guess it's time to get to get signed up for my next marathon. Since I now have seven under my belt, it might be time to commit to running a marathon in every state. Not good planning on my part since I have run the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon twice and the Columbus Marathon once. That is 3 marathons but 1 state (Ohio).

But, The Flying Pig crossed over into Kentucky 2 states, 1 Marathon. Being a Marine I can't count it (Honor).

Could this be I am committing to 43 marathons in a few strokes of a keyboard? I am chickening out for now but I will let you know.

I just realized my real success is the training. The Marathon is just the scorecard.

Enjoy the journey.

Make it Concrete

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:21:00 +0000

After 5 months of marathon training, I have returned to the gym. To be honest, I don't really like the gym. I get bored pretty easy.

Tonight, I had an "AHA" moment. The reason I do well with marathon training is I have a clear training schedule. The problem with lifting weights for me is I just have a vague idea of the exercises I am going to do before I start my workout.

I have noticed with no concrete plan I easily get bored and even find myself wanting to leave the gym, unlike my marathon training which I know exactly what I need to do to achieve my goal.

I would suspect that the lack of clear plans affect other goals in my life.

I am committed to having a workout plan by the end of next week.

What steps do you need to take to make your game plan concrete.

Marine Corps Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 02:42:00 +0000

It's hard to believe with my recent immersion into my Marine Corps past I missed the fact that today is the Marine Corps Birthday.

My new buddy Gannon Beck a fellow Marine and outstanding illustrator reminded me about this important day in history.

Gannon put together a great lens (basically a web page) on the Marine Corps Philosophy if you are a fellow civilian Marine its a great reminder of what drives you daily. If you are not a Marine its great information to learn about what makes a Marine.

Thanks for the reminder Gannon,

Happy Birthday and Semper Fi, to my buddies from Parris Island, CPL Gunter, CPL Hrbanek and Sgt. Garcia.

Brian

Results are In - Mission Accomplished

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 01:48:00 +0000

I did it. 5+ Hours of running and I must say, I am glad to have this one in the record books.

The Marine Corps Marathon has put together a nice finisher page if you would like
to take a more detailed look.

I must say this was a very inspirational event. I am sure I will be posting about it for days to come.

If I could come up with one conclusion about this marathon is "Do Something."

Marathon runners have a strong history of supporting charities and helping those in need. The Marine Corps Marathon is extra special. Many of the runners where wearing pictures of fallen military heroes on the backs of their t-shirts. This was very touching to see, especially when I recognized the person running was probably not your typical marathon runner type. This brought tears to my eyes knowing these people where carrying the torch for a fallen hero.

If you would like to make a donation to the Yellow Ribbon/April 9th Scholarship Fund in honor of my marathon click here for more information.

So back to the inspiration.

"Do Something"

Raise some money for your favorite charity, the injured troops, fallen heroes or whatever inspires you. I promise you its worth it.

I Made The Cut!

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 02:47:00 +0000

For those of you who are not familiar with the blogging world and I must admit, I am a bit of a newby myself, may not have heard of Blogrush.

You may have noticed the Blogrush link to the blososphere to the right. I subscribed to this blog linking service in an effort to attract more traffic to my blog. We all just want an audience, you understand....right?

I soon found out everybody who has a blog signed up for this free service. I also found out many undesirable blogs, sometimes referred as Spamblogs, signed up as well.

Well, I just was informed they purged over 10,000 blogs from their service. Running Revelations was not one of them.

A small victory for a new blog writer.

I made the cut, I may have been the last picked but I did make the cut.

Oh, by the way. I am heading off for DC tomorrow enroute to the Marine Corps Marathon.

Wish me Luck!

Marine Corps 26.2 = (<2 Weeks) + 10 Years

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:52:00 +0000

Over 10 years ago I set out to run the Marine Corps Marathon. In two weeks I hope to have it filed away in the record books. Although, I have run 6 marathons during this period. The Marine Corps Marathon was the inspiration.

In 1996 I was honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corp and I promptly gained around fifty pounds. I remembered one of my sergeants ran the Marine Corps Marathon and thought it might be a good way to shed my new "civilian body armor."

After committing to the training, my sister announced her wedding date which fell on the same weekend as the Marine Corps Marathon. Luckily I was able to sign up for the New York Marathon, a very suitable replacement for the Marine Corps Marathon. That led to 6 marathons over the next 4 years.

My life found some wonderful distractions in a wife and a personal coaching business.

After a 6 year layoff and a return of the "civilian body armor" I found inspiration in an original goal of running the Marine Corps Marathon. While surfing the net on Mothers Day this year I decided to look up the Marine Corps Marathon.

I told my wife that I had been considering a marathon this year. I figured the Marine Corps Marathon would already be closed out (I had hoped in my heart). It wasn't closed out and she said "just go ahead and sign up, if you don't end up running it oh well."

I took her advice and signed up. My training is nearly complete. Two weeks to go to achieve my decade old goal.

Thanks Honey,

Ooh rah! Marine Corps!

Bite Size Chunks

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 03:31:00 +0000

Over the weekend during my 18 mile run, I had a revelation about my life.

I need to break my goals down to bite size chunks.

Ultimately, my goal is to run and finish the Marine Corps Marathon on October 28th. Naturally, I had broken it down into a training schedule. This schedule is essentially my blueprint for completion of the marathon.

However, I did not consider that I could breakdown it even further. During my 18 miler over the weekend I was feeling a little overwhelmed. My feet and knees were hurting to start and I questioned my stamina after a two weeks of limited training.

So, during my run I started to break things down into 5 mile sections and then mile sections. While doing this I thought to myself. What if I did this in other areas of my life?

Next time your goals have you feeling overwhelmed try breaking them down into bite size chunks.

Running Hurts!

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 03:28:00 +0000

I ran 18 miles on Saturday and it hurt. I ran 3.2 miles today and it hurt.

I forgot about my mantra I used when I trained for my first marathon.

Running Hurts!

The Zone

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 03:07:00 +0000

You may have noticed my blog posts have come to a stand still. That just means my feet have come to a stand still.

Like my tag line says when my feet are shuffling my mind is spinning. I was actually getting a little frustrated over the last few weeks. My work schedule had me buried and my feet, knees and muscles were rebelling as I pounded out 18 miles 2 weeks ago.

So, I took a little break from running and writing. After two weeks off and a few recommendations from the doctors I knocked out 18 miles on Saturday. It actually was amazing. With a little rest my feet, knees and muscles actually responded and I knocked 30 minutes off my time compared to my last 18 miler.

And...my ideas also came back. So what do you do to get in the zone? Obviously I like to run.

A Reason to Believe

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 12:49:00 +0000

Jackson Browne Sang

"Running on - running on empty
Running on - running blind
Running on - running into the sun
But I'm running behind

Everyone I know, everywhere I go
People need some reason to believe
I don't know about anyone but me
If it takes all night, that'll be all right
If I can get you to smile before I leave"

Yesterday, I went to the foot doctor to get some adjustments to my orthotics in preparation for my marathon in 6 weeks (Marine Corps). My index toe on my right foot has a bone that is longer than average and takes the brunt of my weight when I run. We discussed options and my marathon plan (luckily my podiatrist runs marathons) and I shared some of my concerns about physical challenges.

After a few suggestions.

He made my day by saying "my physical challenges were just a small part of the equation, lots of people who are physically better prepared to run a marathon but never will, because mentally will never believe they can run a marathon." He continued with "You believe you can so you will."

My favorite line from Jackson Browne's song Running on Empty is "People need some reason to believe." I gave you a few extra lines above so you can curse me when the song gets stuck in your head, but the line has always really spoke to me. Yesterday, the foot doctor gave me a a reason to believe I could finish this marathon. I suspect I already new it but a little confirmation can go a long way.

As you prepare to run a marathon or set a new goal for yourself keep these words in mind.

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
W. Clement Stone

Idea Catcher

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 01:06:00 +0000

You have heard of a dream catcher, how about an Idea Catcher. Over the last few weeks I have been deluged with ideas or "Running Revelations." The farther I run, the more the ideas back up.

When I get back from my runs, I immediately sit down and grab a piece of paper to write down as much as I can remember. I have to admit it's a bit messy. Although, I have considered a digital recorder, for me fun is the anticipation of getting back and writing down the barrage of ideas.

Do yourself a favor, go purchase a nice notebook, you might think any notebook will do but it won't. Consider it an investment in yourself. I know, I just feel better when I have the nicer things in life. I suspect when you feel better you will have more inspired ideas.

This notebook showed up in a gift bag from an event "A Gathering of Greatness" that I attended at Life Success Seminars.

You will notice as you start to write down your ideas, your inspirations will grow. As your inspirations grow, you will grow.

BlogRush

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 02:02:00 +0000

In an effort to reach more readers, I signed up for BlogRush. If you are also a blogger you might want to check it out.

Blogrush

When are You Inspired?

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 01:55:00 +0000

No run, no ideas, I had a busy week at work and had little time to train.

I noticed this created a lull in my creativity. Although this may sound like a bad thing at least I am aware that running is a great way for me to generate ideas and be inspired.

When do you have your best ideas? What are you doing to take part in that activity more often?

There Is No Place Like Home.

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 19:26:00 +0000

As the saying goes. That includes running. Outside the obvious, when you are home your not running. I like to think that when I am home that means I am all caught up on my running.

Yesterday, when I was out for my 18 mile training run, I was starting to feel a little bogged down and I had an inspiration. I started going through running cadences I used while in the Marine Corps. I shared one of them in a previous post but the point is what do you do when you start to hit the wall.

Do you have a place to go, a home so to speak in your mind where you can ease into a rhythm. You have probably heard about tips for public speaking where you touch your index finger to your thumb. Generally speaking its about distraction.

I encourage you to find a place to go when you are on your long runs. I often recall my Marine Corps Training or a previous marathon training period, these are things that help me push through the pain.

Give it a try and share your ideas.

To Legit to Quit, Hammer Time

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 12:09:00 +0000

toothpastefordinner.com

toothpastefordinner.com

I am heading out for my 18 miler tommorow. It gets easier to run when
you get "To LeGit To Quit." Keep Running.

Callaway to The Finish Line,

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 04:17:00 +0000

Tee up your runs with a slice of fun. On your next tempo run take a golf ball or any ball that bounces with you. As you run bounce the ball out in front of you. This is a great way to expand your endurance.

You will notice at times you need to burst to catch up with errant bounces, this is a nice change of pace to an everyday run.

I noticed my run flew by tonight using this technique, the simple act of focusing on the ball distracted me from my mental fatigue.

Try it out and/or share a fun technique below.

Not recommended at intersections or busy roads. May want to consider off road path.

Mental Milestones

noreply@blogger.com (CoachBriany) — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 02:39:00 +0000

Tonight I was out with my wife for a leisurely run. I was getting in one of my recovery runs as part of my Marine Corps Marathon training and she was just along for the ride so to speak.

She decided to walk the last 3/4 of a mile but I decided to run ahead and run back to her and repeat. I was having fun doubling back and then decided to sprint the final tenth of a mile to the end of our street. During that sprint I had one of my aha moments.

I realized my marathon training was much more than just pounding out mileage week in and week out, "its a training of the brain." Each run my mind gets stronger. Each run I start to believe.

Oohrah! Marine Corps, I am starting to get excited about crossing the finish line.