Out of 'adversity' comes opportunity

In this case I'm not talking real challenge and drama. Just something that knocked me off-track a little recently. Those of you that have been tuning in for a little while will know that one of the things I like to do is to run. I'm not particurly good at it in that I've never really been built for endurance sports but I'm improving quickly.

At the end of April I signed up for some running events, which started with a (ridiculously difficult) 20K off-road event and the initial block of 5 bookings culminates in a 45 mile ultra marathon in January. I know...

Anyway, I duly started training like a madman and lo and behold I picked up and injury. And surprise of surprises, I sort of ignored it. And when I say sort of, I ran on it including a 16K treadmill run a few days ahead of the 20K race. I think it was at this point that my poorly knee said enough's enough. You idiot. And loud enough for me to pay attention. In the back of my mind I was thinking if I could just run through it (stay with me) I'd be fine for the half marathon road race scheduled for August... Uh huh.

So as I lay on the physio's couch 10 days ago and having a variety of pain inflicted as part of the examination, I casually asked about the prognosis. Afterall, I've a half-marathon to do. You can forget that said Physio. No running for 3 weeks at least. 3 weeks? At least?! :-( (And yes, I'm looking for a replacement event, probably late September..).

I was sent away with an order to rest, ice and take anti-inflammatories. Oh, and to maintain cardio fitness I have to swim. As many times per week as I can fit in. Great. From running out in the sunshine in the great outdoors I have to flap around smelling of chlorine.

Many moons ago, I was a competitive swimmer, so I know my around a pool without drowning (so far). It even turns out I still have some moves, which surprised me. But not as much as how completely exhausting swimming is compared to running. First session I was winded after just 2 lengths of the pool. This can't be right?!. I can run 12+ miles and I'm fairly fit! Different sport, different muscles, breathing etc. etc.. All in all, seriously hard work. However....

Turns out I rather like it. In fact, time allowing, I've been in the pool almost everyday since being ordered there under sufferance! I've got a bit of a routine worked out, spoke to a lifeguard who's an ex-triathlete who gave me the use of some floats to work arms and legs separately and gave me some tips. All of a sudden I'm transported back in time to days when I was up at 5am (then not now!) to swim before school and loving it.

So there you have it. Could be a bit of good old fashioned 'if life give you lemons, make lemonade' in action. I should do that more often!

Thanks as always for stopping by.

Opportunity Comes in Many Forms... Don't Miss It!

So here we are at 5pm on Friday and work is all but done (in truth I think most people have been done since lunchtime - a bit of sunshine and scrrrrammm....!). It's been a funny week. In a strange sense not ha ha :). Having had an important piece of business delayed and with some other initiatives start to take shape, another extremely interesting opportunity presented itself this week. A bit of a blast from the past from my time in the IT sector, a former colleague came to me with a proposal to work together on a project completely outside of my current scope. There's a lot to be done before making a decision but it got me thinking.....

We talk a lot about the importance of goals and how staying focused on those goal keeps us on track. Most of us have, or maybe should have(?!) a plan of action around what we're doing and what it is we're trying to achieve in the short, medium and long term.

It IS important to keep your eyes on the prize, no doubt about it. But.... Let's make sure we enjoy the journey as well as the accomplishments. What's the point of working flat-out to climb the mountain, only to have nobody to share the view with at the summit? It would be a travesty to achieve all that we thought we wanted, only to find that we've allowed the things that matter to wither on the vine along the way? The danger of being too-long term focused is that despite best intentions, today can  pass us by. That extra 5 minutes with the kids, the missed opportunity to get some fresh air, to call your friends, to do something other than work. As we've said before, what's done is done. You can't get it back.

The 2nd thing that came to mind is that opportunity presents itself in many forms. And that form probably won't be somebody stood there with a dopey grin and a sign round their neck with the word 'Opportunity' written large...

There's often a better, smarter way to achieve our aims but these options can be easily missed if we're operating at 100mph at the expense of everything else. How often have we said 'if only I'd known about that it would have saved all that wasted time'? What are the odds that the better way was trying to flag us down as we blasted by but we were blind to it? I'm thinking pretty high.

This week, it would have been easy to say 'you know, I'm really busy and I don't have time to meet you. This isn't my thing. Maybe another time....'. As it was, I took the time and discovered a potentially lucrative business opportunity to work with someone I know, respect and trust.

Sound judgement, or pure luck, I'm glad I saw it and acted on it, even though it's a clear deviation from my own plan. Sometimes the road zig-zags a little for a good reason....

It should also be said that you have to determine whether the things that appear to be opportunities are merely distractions in disguise and that's where our judgement comes in. Take time to evaluate. Our gut reactions aren't always 100% accurate but they often serve as a very effective early warning system. The joys of being responsible for our own destinies....!

So let's all try to look up once in a while, take in the view and enjoy the ride.

Thanks as ever for stopping by.

PS - And to my US friends, I hope you have a great 4th July celebration!