1. Thou shall get a coach. Especially in anything you have never done before. Mine was also a Rabbi so the spiritual aspect of this endeavor was also accentuated.
2. Thou shall get good medical advice. I was able to turn issues into non-events by using professional physical therapy and the natural healing of the body.
3. Thou shall have goals throughout the process. A beginning, a middle and an end.
4. Thou shall chart one’s progress. I knew over a 6 month span where I needed to be every day on my path.
5. Thou shall change one’s diet to accomplish one’s stated goals. I didn’t intend to lose weight but some things had to go if I was going to still be around at the 21 mile mark.
6. Thou shall find time for what is important. I learned to stuff 3 hour runs into the week without giving up any other activity. Unsubscribed from interesting but unnecessary emails to create the time. They aren’t coming back.
7. Thou shall involve a partner to reach your goal. Best would be a spouse and make sure to verbally appreciate them for helping you to accomplish. At times my wife was more enthusiastic than I was and met me with water at crucial mileage markers on long runs with pom poms.
8. Thou shall know that there is a G-d. No way was I going to do this without Divine intervention. I climbed some hills in the 4th hour only carried by “wings of eagles.”
9. Thou shall lean into challenges. I was instructed to run up hills (in life) with more energy than usual and lean into it.
10. Thou shall learn to coast to prepare for the next climb. Sometimes you get a break in life or a downhill stretch. Use it to coast, reorganize, recalibrate and gather strength for the next ascent.
11. Thou shall thank God. My fatigue would momentarily dissipate when I would praise G-d just for the simple pleasure of allowing me to run free. It was cathartically purifying.
12. Thou shall leave it all on the field. Have no regrets of should have, could have, would have. Do it with everything you got. Just make sure you got enough left to cross the finish line!
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