Have a Lead Dog to Chase

Dogs Running
Dogs on leash running in front.

For whatever reason, I tend to think clearer when my lungs and legs feel as though they are going to explode. The best comparison I can give is from the Road Runner and Coyote cartoons. That point in almost every cartoon where the coyote has pushed himself with whatever contraption he has made to the edge…and then…he sees it. Clear as day he sees that this is going to end badly. At that moment he has absolute clarity!

For me, I tend to get clarity as I am running with my dogs on early brisk Colorado mornings. When it’s almost too cold to run in the shorts but you do it anyway. There is something about the cool air in my lungs in the morning.

As I run I reflect on the week past, the years past, and just try to keep moving. A few months back I had an epiphany to “Love the Hill”. It’s a mantra I tell myself each time I want to quit as my heart rate ascends to 170+ beats a minute.

Each week I reluctantly bring the dogs as running with two dogs is a bit of a moving obstacle course. Each run Saba, (the Australian Shepherd) bursts on the trail with more energy than the Hoover Dam produces at full tilt. Keeva, (the Chesapeake) is not quite so joyful but she sprints out anyway. I’m convinced she does this only not to be shamed by any onlooking dogs for getting outrun by her human.

As we begin the 400-foot vertical climb my lungs pound, legs ache, you know the drill. This week I was struck by the fact that I have resented bringing the dogs. However, I have a lot to thank them for.

Yes, each week as I run and try to shed some of my COVID-19 composition. The dogs drag me up the hill with joyful exuberance. Yes, I am tethered to them and at times they drag me. If I was not tethered to them no doubt I would have spent more time walking than running.

As my fitness has improved I now say I chase them. Without them dragging me the first several weeks, I wouldn’t have been able to push through the pain of what I thought was possible. For a couple of months now I have been improving, chasing the dogs up the mountain. It’s not as though I planned it that way. Some days are better than others but the point is I run with a pack that is faster than me. This pack pushes me beyond what my mind thinks I am capable of. As I’ve pondered this I see that it applies to much more than my runs.

Life is a journey full of mountains, valleys, deserts and natural wonders. These things are beautiful and are deadly in the right circumstances. We can sit back in comfort and do and see what we know we can do in safety and avoid the pain. That’s fine if that is how you want to live your life. If you’re willing to take some risks though, to “Love the Hill” while enduring the discomfort who knows what you can do, what you can see, or where you can go. One thing I know for sure, having a companion that has unbridled energy and enthusiasm that can drag you over the obstacles will make it easier. As you come more accustomed to the journey it becomes a “chase”, a game of enjoyment and accomplishment.

You can only see and feel this though if you venture outside your comfort zone, get on the trail and chase the lead dog. Who knows, maybe..just maybe…that lead dog will eventually be chasing you!

Love the Hill

After 20 months of Covid quarantine and countless excuses of why I can’t, couldn’t or shouldn’t I decided to get back in shape. After getting a few weeks of moderate fitness under my belt I decided to go for a run. The route I run is about 4 miles long and 2.5 miles of that run is uphill.

Week one was painful beyond belief. Week two was a little better and so on. No matter though, this trail hurts even when you’re in shape. Each week I reached different parts of the journey and a new hill seemed to whisper in my ear. “you should walk….why are you doing this?….this sucks!” From there my attitude began to sour and I would fight the urge to quit. I would tell myself to just keep moving no matter how slow I went. Just don’t stop!

One week while running a new thought came into my head while stumbling up the trail. Instead of agonizing over the hill, love it!. That’s right I said “love it”. What I mean is embrace it, relish it, and think of how it is helping you reach your goal. We’ve all heard it said that attitude is a choice. It’s an orientation toward something or someone. By saying “love the hill” to myself while my legs and lungs were on fire, it gave me a glimpse of relief for some reason.

You see, the struggles and the obstacles are where the work is done; it’s where we grow. It’s when reality smacks in the face and tells you where you really are. You can choose to quit or re-orient your mind and understand where you are going vs. your present discomfort.

So, the next time something is hard, unbearable, painful ….when there is a hill in your journey “love it” and keep moving forward.

Hit It Head On

I grew up in the mountains near Buena Vista, Colorado, one of the best whitewater rafting and kayaking spots in the country. I go back to my hometown periodically to do a little rafting when the water level is high. As the water goes up the rocks get covered, the waves get bigger, and the excitement gets kicked up a notch or two.

A few years back, as I prepared to go down the river, I talked to some of the guides that had gone down the river recently. While we were preparing, I met with the trip leader to find out if anything had changed on the river since I had last rafted.  As we talked through the rapids, it became clear that most of the normal routes were no longer good, and I would need to take the rapids differently or take a different path. At that moment I thought back to my training and what a guide should do in the event that they come upon an obstacle that they couldn’t get away from. The answer was simple, hit it head on and with momentum.

When a raft hits things sideways, the river stalls the boat, sucks one of the tubes underwater, and dump people and/or flip the boat. When that happens we run a higher risk of passengers getting injured. People get cold and wet in the 40-degree water as they’re left floundering in the middle of a river that has a current that much stronger than they can fight.

As I thought about this, it reminded me that rafting is a lot like life. Sometimes the water is high, sometimes it’s low. Sometimes we have rapids, and sometimes the river is calm. Sometimes life moves quickly, and sometimes it moves slowly.  You have to be prepared to navigate everyscenario.

On the river, depending on the water level and the situation, the route that we take is different from one we’ve taken before. We have to adjust, look downstream, read the water and talk to people that have navigated the route before.

When the water is high it also is moving much faster than usual. When it’s moving fast we have less time to react to the changes that are coming our direction. The ever-changing conditions make it all the more important that when we come across challenges that we put ourselves in the best position possible to navigate the rapid.  

Hitting the rapids sideways on the river,  or in life, will almost always get us in trouble.  Set up for the right route early, hit challenges head-on and with momentum. If we do that, we are in a better position to survive the powerful rapids, if we don’t the river of life will let us know just how powerless we are.

Knowing Your Priorities

On a road trip a few years back, I had the opportunity to see a college teammate of mine. My teammate is an accomplished athlete in his own right. He’s been and member of numerous world championship teams for starters. He also was the first person from his country to medal at the World Championships in Athletics. Not a bad athlete to say the least.

I recall one of the stories that our jumps coach used to tell us about him. He told our coach that he only had two objectives that year; graduating at the top of his class and jumping far enough to win the NCAA Championships. Our coach asked why he only had two objectives. His response was perfect. He said, “Coach, everyone I know that has more than two objectives isn’t good at the top two on the list. They end up being mediocre at all their priorities”.

As I look back on that story I see there is so much truth in it. After years in the business world, I’ve seen the wisdom in my teammate’s comments over and over. We tend to bite off too much and think we are superhuman. As a result, we end up delivering mediocre results due to our diluted efforts. So, when you are tempted to take on a “priority” step back, and ask yourself if it will hinder your ability to be great. If so, you may want to rethink taking on that extra priority.