Today was brutal. Six miles. Because of my right Achilles, I couldn’t do it on the road so I took it to the gym. The first mile and a half was rough getting the heart rate up, and getting my head into the workout. Even when I was into it, it was tough to get “into it.” That’s when I thought of Newton’s First Law of Motion: “Every body continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it.”

Feeding off yesterday’s thoughts, the force compelling a change – moving from a state of motion toward the goal of running in Chicago to a state of rest – would be that weak voice. And that weak voice was loud this morning. Fortunately, it wasn’t as loud as the STRONG voice telling me to keep running. Because that’s what I do. That’s now who I am.

I'm not a science guy. I’m not a physics guy. In fact I’ve never taken a single physics class. I am a quotes guy, though. And Newton's First Law of Motion is dead on. Paraphrasing that law. I like to say Momentum is Magic. We know when we have it. Things click. The right things happen. Everything works. There is energy. Things are moving. For that reason, our job every morning is to get up and establish momentum. Once we have it we must do everything we can to maintain it. Keep moving because that feeling of things moving - momentum - in a “right line” is an incredible feeling. Everyone also knows the misery of losing momentum. When things stand still. When things AREN’T moving.

Another scientific concept that applies in every day life is Activation Energy. A term from chemistry, activation energy is the minimal amount of energy required to create a chemical reaction. Applied to life, activation energy is what allows you to create the magic of momentum. Shaun Achor in his book The Happiness Advantage applies the concept of activation energy in establishing habits that create an environment of achievement and happiness in his life. Or, as I coach the kids in Orlando, they’re tricks. An example Achor uses includes putting his workout clothes at the end of his bed to ensure when he awakens, his tools are there for him to use without forcing him to think. He also took his guitar out of the closet and placed it in the middle of the floor of his apartment, making it much easier for him to learn how to play guitar. To stop watching television as soon as he arrived home from work, Achor took the batteries out of the remote control and placed both the batteries and the remote control away from the television. Those small steps were tricks making it easier for Achor to establish habits that created an environment of accomplishment.

The battle this morning was an awareness that my mind wasn’t “into it,” and that I needed to keep moving. Keep running. Keep moving. Keep running. Make sure the weak voice wasn’t strong enough to compel change to a state of rest. Unthinkingly, the trick I developed is awareness of times when the weak voice is loud (and those times do come). At that point it's time to awaken the STRONG voice in order to kick the weak voice's ass. Because Momentum is Magic, and Failure is Not an Option. Wait. Another quote . . .

Today was a three mile run. What I learned . . . I have to stop pushing myself. It’s a bad habit. After getting all full of myself for running twelve miles over the weekend, I thought, “This is three miles. Easy peasy. Time for a personal RECORD!” Well . . . that didn't happen.

I also learned I need to start my runs well before the sun comes up, and get enough sleep. Florida summers are brutal if you’re spending time outside on the road. The movie 42 ended around 11:30 last night with my wife and youngest son while my daughter slept on the couch. That voice said, “Spend time with family. This is nice, even if you are going through e-mail on your computer.” I was up at 6am. Applying the 7-hour rule, that isn’t enough sleep for a normal night, not to mention when training for a marathon. The later you take, the hotter it's going to be.

When I’m not running, I work with kids in my spare time. Lately, I’ve been working with a summer program serving disadvantaged kids in downtown Orlando on a goal-setting program called Achieve YOUR Dream! The kids learn how to achieve ANYTHING in the world they want. Within the program, we work on the stories we tell ourselves. We work on the words we use – the stories themselves – and the tone we use to tell them. One of the keys to achievement is being able to control the voice that tells your stories – control WHAT the voice says and HOW the voice says it. Up to this point, we’ve discussed two voices. The STRONG voice tells you to conquer the world, move faster, and that you’re invincible – and it’s done in a firm, convincing fashion. The weak voice tells you to stay in bed, play a few more video games, the workout you’re doing hurts and you should stop, and overall just slow down and relax. The intent is to increase awareness of which voice is speaking to them, and to make sure the STRONG voice kicks the weak voice’s ass every day. To continue to push. To challenge yourself like you’ve never challenged yourself before.

Ironically, it’s my STRONG voice that creates trouble with my training. Counter intuitively, I have to use the STRONG voice to throttle back the intensity of my running. Using the “heart rate strategy” where you keep your heart rate at 180 bpm less your age, I’ve been working hard to keep it at 135 bpm. That voice YELLS at me, “C’MON, you HAVE to be more DISCIPLINED than THIS!!! Slower. You aren’t 30 years old. KEEP IT AT 135 bpm!”

On Saturday’s 12-mile run, I did a decent job of keeping it around 140 bpm for the first half. The second half, it was tough to keep it under 150 bpm because of the heat. It was because of that discipline that I finished twelve miles in really good shape. Hot and sweaty, but limited pain in my calves and Achilles. Tight in the quads, tight in the calves and feet, but overall I was very happy given the problems I’ve been having with my lower legs.

Today was supposed to be 3 easy miles. I salivated, thinking “I just ran twelve miles. This will be AWESOME and EASY! I should NAIL this with an old man PR for 3 miles” (my lifetime PR for 3 miles is at a 6:18 per mile clip). That’s when trouble came back to town. No new old man PR. And my right Achilles is back to being a problem. I needed a third voice to speak up. The Voice of Reason, which is a voice of maturity, needs to temper the enthusiasm of the STRONG voice. The STRONG voice should only come into play when the weak voice starts to talk. My heart rate hovered around 155 bpm for most of the run.

Tomorrow, it’s back to the gym to push my feet up and down on the Stairmaster for six miles. This weekend is thirteen. And time to control the voices a bit better.