What is winning. What does it look like? What does it feel like?

Hopefully the story below will try to answer the questions.

Once upon a time there was a young lady who I had the opportunity to train and her effort defines winning in my eyes. Her name is Noelle Hansen.

I started coaching Noelle her sophomore season of track. Noelle was unique. She had an outstanding personality but was shy around certain individuals, namely anyone who was not in her inner circle, but possessed a flamboyant personality. She was a unique individual but you would have to pay close attention to see this without being in her inner circle.

Noelle finished her sophomore season performing a 72 second 400m. This was my first year with this team. The goal was to turn this program around. I wanted winning efforts out of this team. I desired efforts from the athletes that would merit times that would compete for regional and state titles. After the high school track season finished Noelle made me her best friend. She trained 5 days a week that summer.

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As stated in previous writing I come from the world of track and field. The 2 hardest races in track they say is 400 hurdles and the 800m. I ran both races in college. I began to understand my mind was more important than my body. My mind must rule my body. if my body rules then when it gets tough, succumbing to the pain soon follows.

We all have the ability to conquer and successfully navigate this race. We need to be prepared well physically and mentally. A good coach is imperative. Anyone can tell another to run 1 lap as fast as you can and by the way jump over 10 hurdles in the process. An athlete needs a great coach to lead and guide them, if they are to achieve greatness.

I had the opportunity to work with one of the best coaches of all time in track and field (Tom Tellez). This man coached Carl Lewis and many other Olympians, NCAA champions, All-Americans. One of the things he instructed me to do as i ran, 'when your technique beaks down stop running.' This of course was during practice. In practice building strength to maintain proper technique for the entirety of the race was an important objective . It is amazing what happens to the mind once the body gives. My mind would need to dictate to my body how to run. This revelation dramatically changed me as a runner. As long as i abide by this principle remaining strong throughout the sprint became attainable. This gives me my best chance for success in the race.

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Ecclesiastes 2:10

I have lived a season of  life when I did not deny myself anything my eyes saw.  I found myself eating whatever my eyes set themselves towards, taking whatever I wanted from the woman I was dating at the time.  I found my eyes soon controlled my actions. My inside was telling me no but my eyes were saying yes. I started a civil war inside of my body.
 
Any fruitful season of my life has come under strict organization.  Whether it comes from my own doing or an outside factor.  Right now in the U.S. there is a recession and this is an outside factor that is putting a stop to our over indulgence as a society. I would rather put the brakes on myself versus some outside factor putting the brakes on me. I have a better chance of controlling me than I do the economy or some drill sergeant.

Numbers 15:39-40 “You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands.”

What are we being coached on here? One of the things I see is a reminder- a tassel. The tassel is a symbol so we will remember, a lot like the wwjd (what would Jesus do) bracelets.

How do we get ourselves into trouble spots? We often loose sight of God. We get the urge to grab for our vice in life; most often we have not completely forgotten God, the vice was our focus at that moment in time. We choose ourselves over God.

When it is all done some feel the guilt or anger associated with the pleasure of me me me; once the moment is done guilty thoughts of “why did I do that” can set in. By this time it is too late to take back the guilty pleasure. It is done. Learn from the experience.

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Some man was collecting fire wood on the Sabbath. He got stoned for doing so. Why?

Isn’t this the million dollar question? Why stone a man for picking up firewood? That is what our society would ask in today’s world. All it is is firewood?

How does the flu spread? One person breathes on another, the immune system is attacked and either it will or will not fight of the virus. Sometimes the virus penetrates our immune walls and infects our system. Homeostasis is interrupted.

Why did they stone the firewood collector? There were specific orders as what to do on the Sabbath. If disregarded and unpunished what is to stop the next person from violating the Sabbath rule?

In today’s world has there not been the shift of power from God to we are our own god’s and now we have the power to say what is right and wrong? No one can tell another right or wrong. The once black and white lines have now become gray and at that drawn with a led pencil so we can easily erase and move this gray line.

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Paul is famous for “I do as I ought not to do and I don’t do what I should do.”

If we all did what we should do then I would think this would be called Utopia instead of Earth. Guys are notorious for never stopping to ask for directions. We figure we can get there ourselves. We are always on the verge of figuring our way to “no where”; Ladies you just going to have to bear with us on this.

As a trainer I always found it so much easier to train teenage women over teenage boys. Girls would look at me, follow directions and they would increase their max lifts tremendously. Guys on the other hand, as much as they tried somehow we would always try to “muscle it up”, do it on our own strength instead of allowing the technique to take care of the heavy spots.

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