Pivot (n): a person, thing, or factor having a major or central role, function, or effect.
2012 will be a pivot year for me. I recognize it as such because I’ve had one before. In 1999 I was getting ready to separate from the Air Force and all I had been up to that point in my adult life was a pilot. I flew airplanes for a living and I never saw myself as anything else. As I sent out applications to the major airlines something just didn’t feel right, I honestly wasn’t interested in ‘driving a bus’ for the next 30 years. No matter how glamorous some folks made it sound, I just wasn’t that excited about being away from home 2-3 weeks a month and getting up for work at 3AM.
Almost on a lark I decided to see what my value might be as an Engineer. My major was Electrical Engineering but I had done nothing with it and my knowledge in that field was well over 10 years old. Who in their right mind would hire me? Since the airlines weren’t calling me I didn’t just test the waters, I went all in. I sent out resumes, contacted head hunters and went on a bunch of interviews. To my shock I was offered positions at two different companies, near what I was currently making as an Air Force Captain on flying status. Twelve years, multiple certifications and a graduate degree later I’ve caught up with my peers and I’m well established in my current career field.
Now 2012 is beginning…and something doesn’t feel right. A year ago I would have been content to continue qualifying for Boston and be happy if my legs kept holding up. Now I want more. This year I’ve read everything I could get my hands on regarding training, injury prevention and performance. I’ve PR’d at every distance I’ve run in 2011 and I don’t feel like I’m anywhere near plateauing. It’s absolutely crazy to think that at 47 I could do something meaningful with my running, but I can’t accept not trying.
I started writing this post with a totally different topic in mind but this just came out on its own. I need to either succeed in this or fail spectacularly. Risk is relative and failure doesn’t scare me anymore. It feels like its time to go all in…
jamiekswriter says:
Hi Rob, you can do anything you set your mind to! I’m looking forward to reading all about it.
— Jamie
Rob says:
Thanks for all your help Jaime! Feel free to let me know of any improvements I can make.
Lisa H. says:
Hi Rob,
I found your blog through a comment you left on my personal development blog (http://www.gettingtozen.com). I did not know if you knew I am also a passionate runner and have a running blog at http://tenbullsrunning.com/. So, of course when I saw that you were a runner, I had to check out your blog.
Congratulations on all of your PRs. I don’t think it is crazy to think that at 47 you could still do something meaningful with your running. I am 39 and feel exactly the same way and I would regret not trying. It sounds like we are on similar paths for 2012 as far as avoiding injury and reaching potential.
Interestingly, I live just outside of Philadelphia. I train almost every day in Valley Forge Park.
If you ever want to guest post on either of my blogs, let me know. I like what you have to say…
Rob says:
Hi Lisa,
It’s great to hear from you. Through Twitter I’ve been to http://tenbullsrunning.com/ on several occasions and your passion comes through loud and clear! I’m really cheering for you on your Olympic run and I can relate completely to the obstacles you are encountering in trying to improve your performance while battling the aging process. In my next post I’ll be outlining my ‘Road to minimalist running’ and I’ll be discussing the knee issues (that I never had in my 20′s) and how I’ve stayed injury fee through my form changes and shoe selection.
As a Masters runner the one supplement that I use that has made a tremendous difference for me is Runovia (www.runovia.com). This is a PHENOMINAL product. I’ve had some serious patella tendinopathy and in using Runovia it is pretty much non-existent. I’ll be writing a post in the future just on this product alone outlining the science behind it but when I read about your struggles with Peroneal Tendonitis, I thought it might help you. Head over to their site and read about it and let me know if I can answer any questions for you. I’ve used it for two years now and its allowed me to continue to push myself harder during my training.
That’s amazing that you live just outside of Philly! Looks like we’ll need to get in some training runs in the near future
. I’ll be running in a lot of the USATF Mid-Atlantic Grand Prix races this year so let me know your race schedule and I’ll look for you. Also thank you for the ‘Guest Poster’ invite, I’d love it. Feel free to contact me at rob [at] designedtorun.com and we can work it all out.
Rob
Lisa H. says:
Thanks Rob,
Somehow my Twitter accounts got crossed and tweets from Getting to Zen are showing up on Ten Bulls Running and vice versa. I am considering combining the accounts, but haven’t made a final decision on it. I guess I am not sure exactly how I want to use Twitter.
Thank you so much for your support. For me to qualify by the time I need to qualify, most EVERYTHING will need to go right. Since I don’t have the time to deal with any major setbacks I am focusing heavily on form, nutrition and general strength training.
I look forward to reading about your ‘Road to minimalist running and how you have stayed injury fee through form changes and shoe selection. Shoe selection can be tough one; especially since the manufacturers keep changing the way the shoes fit; However, I can see that with minimalist shoes, there is less foam, plastic, gel or air that can be manipulated.
Thanks for the tip on Runovia. I did see that it has Hyaluronan in it. I have heard good things about that. I tried a product with Hyaluronan several months ago for overall joint health, but stopped when my month supply was finished. I appreciate you bringing it to my attention. I am going to head over to their site and purchase some.
Yes, I live in Phoenixville and am very familiar with the USATF circuit. The first race I would probably do would be The Revolutionary Run and running a fast, fast Broad Street would also be awesome.
Yes, it would be great to get in some training runs together. Right now I am running about 5 miles/day (recovering from back injury, so I’ll wait ’til I am doing a bit more before hitting you up for a run.
No problem on the guest posting…
Thanks
It was great meeting you.
Have a good rest of the weekend.
Lisa
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