There are some posts that are easier to write after you’ve figured everything out.
This isn’t one of them.
The Detroit Free Press Marathon is getting closer.
And if I’m being truthful with myself, I haven’t been putting in the miles I need to put in.
Life has been hectic.
Work has been busy.
Family has needed my attention.
There have been trips, commitments, projects and plenty of legitimate reasons why getting out the door for a run has been harder lately.
But here’s the problem:
Detroit doesn’t care about my reasons.
On October 18, the starting line isn’t going to ask whether work was busy.
Mile 20 isn’t going to care what was on my calendar.
And the Ambassador Bridge certainly isn’t going to get any shorter because I missed a training run.
I’ll have 26.2 miles in front of me regardless.
That’s something I’ve had to level set with myself about.
There’s an important distinction between giving yourself grace when life gets complicated and allowing that grace to become an excuse.
I think I’ve probably drifted a little too far toward the second one lately.
Not intentionally.
That’s usually how it happens.
You miss one run because something comes up.
Then another.
You tell yourself you’ll make the miles up later.
The routine gets interrupted.
And eventually you realize the commitment you made hasn’t changed…
but your behavior has.
That’s uncomfortable to admit.
But maybe it should be.
Because one of the things I’ve learned through running is that the stopwatch is remarkably honest.
You can’t talk your way into being prepared for a marathon.
You can’t negotiate with 26.2 miles.
You can’t cram for it the night before.
The work either happened or it didn’t.
Leadership isn’t much different.
Neither are most of the important things in life.
We make commitments all the time.
To our companies.
To our teams.
To our spouses.
To our kids.
To ourselves.
But making the commitment is the easy part.
Keeping it when life becomes inconvenient is where commitment actually gets tested.
And sometimes we don’t.
Sometimes we drift.
Sometimes priorities get out of alignment.
Sometimes we look at where we said we wanted to go and realize our current actions aren’t going to get us there.
That’s when we have a choice.
We can explain it.
We can rationalize it.
We can lower the goal.
Or we can level set.
Where am I?
Where do I need to be?
What’s the gap?
And what am I going to do about it?
That’s where I am with Detroit.
I’m not starting over.
I’m not throwing away the miles I’ve already run.
And I’m certainly not giving up on the goal.
But I do need to recommit to the work required to get there.
That means protecting the time.
Getting out the door when I don’t feel like it.
Accepting that some runs aren’t going to fit conveniently into my schedule.
And remembering that every time I choose something else, I’m making a withdrawal from race day.
Because October 18 is coming whether I’m ready or not.
There’s actually something motivating about that.
A deadline has a way of removing ambiguity.
I know where the finish line is.
I know when I have to be there.
And I know what needs to happen between now and then.
Now comes the part that matters:
Do the work.
Maybe there’s something in your life that needs a level set too.
A goal you haven’t abandoned, but haven’t been giving enough attention.
A commitment you still believe in, even though your actions lately haven’t reflected it.
That doesn’t mean the goal is lost.
But it might mean it’s time to stop explaining the gap and start closing it.
For me, that means putting the shoes back on and getting the miles in.
Detroit is waiting.
And I’d much rather experience the discomfort of training now than discover the cost of avoiding it somewhere around mile 20.
Commitment isn’t proven when you make the promise.
It’s proven when you realize you’ve drifted—and choose to come back.
#MondayMilesAndLeadership
#BuiltForTheLongRun
#Commitment #Accountability #Discipline #Leadership