Vision Training

Ted Williams was arguably one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He is the last man to hit .400 over an entire baseball season and is a measuring stick for all great hitters. Baseball legends report that his eyesight was so crisp he could see the seams on the baseball as it was thrown from the pitcher. Whether that was true or not, he still had extraordinary vision which is key for success in baseball.

This type of vision doesn't come naturally for everyone. When I was in college, our baseball team went through vision training drills. We would set up a room in the offseason where each player would go through exercises specifically trained to increase peripheral vision and reaction time. These also included agility and balance drills while focusing on improving eyesight. The theory was that training a player's vision would improve their performance.

We had no real time data to determine if this made baseball players better, but the principle of vision training applies to other parts of our life. We function as parents because of what we have seen our parents do (or not do.) We lead others because of how we have seen other people lead. Our life experiences shape the way we view things. These are all a current part of our vision, but they don't have to be the permanent way we we look at things. I believe we have the choice to train ourselves to look at people, circumstances, and our environment differently. We have the power to decide the old way of looking at things is not satisfactory and to do something different. It may not be easy to retrain our vision, but it is possible if we decide it matters enough to us.

Cross Training

One of the things I've recently learned about running is the great value of cross-training. My simple logic tells me I would get better at running by running more. While that is true, I'm discovering improvements from the in-between days of weights and other activities as well. These "off days" are good for resting, but they also make me better as they stretch me in different ways.

I realize I should be taking this approach in the rest of my life too. It's not just the big moments that help me get stronger, but how I use the moments in between that make a difference. Reading books/blogs/articles that stretch my thinking, talking with new people, listening to different voices, and using my own gifts in new ways are all effective methods of making me better overall. It's not easy to think about doing this on a personal level, but I believe it makes us more well rounded people. We are stronger overall as a result of varying influences and our willingness to make better use of the time in between the big moments of life.

The Last Three

I've been out of commission on my normal running for the last five weeks due to an injury. I've written a few times about how disappointed I have been in the length of recovery time. It's also been frustrating to have a good rhythm of running knocked off course. I have been tracking my miles with an app for my iPhone and when I hurt my knee I was at 197 miles for the year. While that may not seem like a lot to some people, I felt it was a big deal.

I had actually been looking forward to hitting the 200 mile mark especially since it had taken me far less time than it did to reach the first 100. I was in a groove as an "actual runner" and was planning ahead for faster pace and farther distances. It was not until this past week that I felt comfortable enough to hit the treadmill and get those last three miles. I don't discount the distance just because it took longer to achieve. In fact, I appreciate those last three miles even more. It's making me reevaluate my approach and to think more carefully about how I treat my aging body.

I will still celebrate this mileage, but will also gain greater respect for the endurance and perseverance it will take to hit the next 100. I still hope it won't take as long to move forward as these last three did. I suppose that's a decent lesson for a lot of goals in life. Sometimes it will come easily and other times we'll have to be more patient to see the results we're looking for.

The Right Training

I was reading a running magazine the other night that gave a simple, powerful piece of advice.

"Train to race. Don't race to train." 

This running coach shared this with his athletes as they prepared for a big event. He wanted to make sure they understood you don't completely exhaust your physical energy before the big event. Your objective is to train to get ready for the race without racing at full speed the entire time you prep.

That's good counsel for other areas of our life too. I've often exerted so much energy getting ready for something that I don't have the reserves I need to be as successful as I want to be. This doesn't mean that I shortcut my preparation, but that I carefully focus my energies to make the most of training with an eye on the big day. This is a necessary balance between engaging fully in the art of preparation and recognizing the main objective of the big moment. It helps me to develop a pace that builds strength over the long haul and brings greater success when the time is right.