For me, that is amazing. So how do I know?

Late in 2018 I signed up to the London Marathon 2019 as a member of the Dementia Revolution team. My wife tells me that it always takes a ‘The’ to motivate me, as in: The Virgin Money London Marathon, or getting fit enough to ski The Russi Run above Andermatt (or indeed establishing The Sino-UK Fund). It has to be a big ‘The’ to get me fired up, apparently. I have never run a marathon before, and I have not done any sort of running in almost 40 years so family and friends were a little surprised by my commitment. My children joined in the ruse by giving me some quite extraordinary “Adidas Ultra Boost” running shoes for Christmas so I signed on to the Strava running app on Boxing Day and took my new kit for a test run. Strava keeps a record of your routes, speed and hill climb distance – click the logo for more info. On that first run (about 2 miles round the village very, very slowly!) I was utterly demoralised by how hard it was. Even on the flat my jog was little more than a shuffle, and the slightest incline brought me close to a standstill.

This is the point at which I need YOUR support. This is HARD! I confess that I found myself believing that I might have taken on a ‘The’ that was beyond me.

Link to my fundraising page

But the sun rose again and today I learned something: Strava has just told me that I have run 26.2 miles. Marathon distance!

OK so the 26.2 miles is the cumulative total distance I have run in my new shoes. Since 26th December. But … there is suddenly no part of me that says: “I can’t do this”. If it takes me 10 days or so to complete the London Marathon starting on 28th April then the timekeepers, crowd, finish line and even my long suffering, faithful family supporters will have gone home by the time I complete it. But still I now know with absolute certainty that I CAN run a marathon. I can see the fact right there in front of me on the Strava app.

Believing that I can’t do something is one of life’s worst nightmares for me. It holds me back so much. Proving to myself that I can is sometimes just a matter of perspective. For me, I now know that I can complete the marathon. Training over the next few months just needs to help me cut down the breaks a bit so that I get to the finish line in time to pick up my finisher’s medal :-)

So what else have I learned so far?

• Well after my second run I implemented an advanced warm-down routine – i.e. collapse immediately in front of the telly with a cup of tea. Unfortunately I can tell you with absolute certainty that this method is not a good idea. Something close to rigor mortis sets in within about 10 minutes. I was stiff as a board. It turns out that stretching, water, protein and a bit of chocolate work a whole lot better.
• Also, I had to update my training program compared to the last time I ran any distance. There are training programs that anyone can access that get you to the finish line. Enough people have attempted marathons in recent years for online apps and training programs to be developed that you simply have to adhere to and you will make it. When I was 18, a bunch of my fellow rugby team members and I decided that a 25 mile Sponsored Walk for Charity that our school had arranged would be far too boring to walk. So, three weeks before the day, we decided to train so that we could run it instead, which we then did (the 17th mile was hard, as I recall, and I also remember that we arrived at all the refreshment stops and finish line before the officials had even got there - whereas in April I aspire to get there before they have left). That gruelling 25 mile run was NEARLY marathon length and is my one, solitary claim to long distance running. But it is a lonely marker and more than double the length of any other run I have ever done so I don’t think that a three week preparation plan would work quite so well this time! The full four months is needed. (Here is a link to a very simple 16 week Training Plan, if you are interested –> Link)
• Some people get some benefit from comparing their performance with other runners. The Strava app has all sorts of gadgets and applications to help a user follow fellow runners and be followed by others, compare routes with others, compete with others, see ratings of one’s performance against others and much more besides. But none of this interests me in the slightest so I have turned all these features off. For me, motivation comes from within – the challenges I set for myself.

I am going to try to keep a record of the experience over the next four months – hopefully including details of what it feels like to run and complete the London Marathon. However I need to get your support along the way. I have set myself the task of raising £2,500 for the extraordinary cause that is The Dementia Revolution (another ‘The’). I have just put in £500 myself and my business will match that. But I need help from you to get to my target please. Judging by previous blog posts I only need £5 or more from you to hit the target though. Can you do that, please? Click on the link below and see what you think – and email me when/if you do contribute so that I can update you on progress.

Link to my fundraising page

Finally I am pleased to see that my faithful running companion – our 2 year-old dog – is sound asleep on her blanket as I write. She already gets excited when I get my new running shoes out as she knows that we are off for a run. And it apparently tires her a little too!

Thanks for your support. Please take it from me that what ever it is that you believe you can’t do … you are almost certainly wrong.  Find some way to prove to yourself that you can do it and you will find the strength to put in the hard yards. After that … you can start looking out for the final straight, with finish line in sight.

Note: All comments are curated. All marketing links and similar junk will be deleted

All I want for Christmas is …

Two-year old running companion

I am in Wuhan, China this week. I met with Mr Qian, leader of the Wuhan Biolake and Mrs Shen of Wuhan-based pharma company HumanWell yesterday. Over a delicious Chinese lunch, conversation turned first to rugby – Mr Qian clearly being bemused to receive a full size World Cup rugby ball as a gift from me – and then to tennis.

Wuhan holds a major women’s tennis tournament at this time each year. Since 2014 it has become one of the two annual Premier-level WTA events in China and the Wuhan Open typically includes at least 15 of the top 20 women in the sport. It turned out that HumanWell are one of this year’s major sponsors. This was lucky for me because a pair of VIP tickets appeared miraculously from a pocket, just in time for the evening’s play.

Simone Halep meets Johanna Konta

It is rare to get time to relax on these trips but my evening was free so my UKTI minder and I arrived at Wuhan’s spectacular new Centre Court just in time to see Britain’s Johanna Konta take the first set from World No2 Simone Halep of Romania.

For the unseeded Brit ranked more than 60 places below the Romanian, this was news.

Unfortunately Konta’s success didn’t last. Her first set form deserted her and, in the blink of an eye, the second set was lost as the Romanian pounced on unsuccessful drop shots and Konta’s forehand lost its range. Then life turned from challenging to bad: within a very few minutes Konta found herself down by a break in the final set whilst her opponent held her own serve with little drama. Then another break and before Konta had time to think she was 5:1 down in the final set and her dominant and dynamic opponent was getting ready to step up … to serve for the match.

You probably know pretty much how Konta felt at that moment?

Events in life often seem to start well, but can quickly turn sour. And sometimes, suddenly, before we too have had time to think … all seems lost.

So how do we react? What we know of ourselves is that we have a positive or negative course of action that we can take. The negative reaction can be common. But the alternative strategy is in your control and improves your chances of achieving a positive outcome. The table below summarises what I mean.

What to do when being thrashed? A dozen options:

I think that we each have different flaws and frailties that are exposed when the pressure is on. We each suffer from our own set of reactions to serious challenges and we each need to find our corresponding alternative strategies.

So what do you personally add to the list above?
What are your own Common Reactions and their Alternative Strategies?
And what about the fortunes of the struggling Konta?

Well the first thing she did was ask for a ‘Coach conference’. Sometimes we think that asking for help, especially in full view of our competitors, will be seen as a sign of weakness that bolsters the confidence of our opponent. We fear that asking for help at this moment will actually do more harm than good. But advice from a constructive, skilled and objective ‘coach’ can make a very positive contribution. Whatever the coach:player discussion on this occasion, it helped.

Konta began to focus on what she does well. She cut out the drop shots that bounced so high on the immaculate Wuhan surface, giving her opponent the chance to pounce. Konta stopped doing the things that didn’t work instead of repeating them again and again in the vain hope that ‘this time will be different’. She started playing the percentages, forcing Halep to attempt risky winners. A crucial few flew wide. Konta broke back.

She kept her First Serves going. I don’t know how she did that. The precision of a great serve must be incredibly difficult when under pressure. I can only imagine that she linked back in to her training. She certainly maintained exactly the same slightly stylised, pre-serve, ball bouncing routine and … she held her serve. At about this point it started to become clear that Konta’s opponent was not taking the attempted come-back well. One racket was lucky to survive its thrashing on the court’s hard surface and the count of vocal disputes over close line calls started to grow.

Winner! From 5:1 down, Final Set …

The rest is already known. Somehow, steadily, Konta fought back. She did the basics well and used her powerful backhand to great effect. The crowd noticed. The noise level increased, willing the player whom all thought minutes ago to be on her way to a lonely loser’s seat in the changing room to head instead for the winner’s podium. And she did it!

“I wasn’t thinking ‘I can win this’ or ‘It’s over’,” said Konta. “I was just trying to stay out there as long as possible and keep fighting every single point.”

It was a spectacular display of human endeavour and self-control. The challenge she faced will, at some point, become horribly familiar to anyone in business. We have all been there, and the choice of common reaction or alternative strategy is available for us to choose.

You have to love sport if only as a succinct, public analogue of life’s challenges and how to take them on. And next time all seems lost in life or business, think of Konta: 5:1 down in the final set, top ranked opponent stepping up to serve for the match.

Are you intending to head for the changing room or the podium?

The rest, as they say, is up to you …

Wuhan Optical Valley International Tennis Centre