Marshall Ramsey

I’ve been working a really tough project the last month and a half.  I’ve worked 17 to 18 hours a day on it and my two jobs (except the day my dog died).  As you could imagine, I’m running out of steam. Wisely, I haven’t given up exercise. The hour that I take out of my day has allowed me to keep pressing forward with some level of energy.  I don’t just exercise to make myself pretty (I’m not sure it would help anyway.).

I’m coming up to the end of the project and last night it completely overwhelmed me.  It has been two steps forward, one back and last night, it was two back. You have to understand, I’ve been living under deadlines for over a quarter century — I don’t miss them and they normally just motivate me. But I just folded like cheap tent.

This morning, I got up at 4:15 and ran 5.11 miles. It was muggy. My legs were tired.  I wasn’t having fun.  Like my project, I was struggling out there this morning.

When I got to the end of my street, I hit five miles. The road went from flat to a fairly steep incline.  It was the final hill — the last .6 miles and it was straight up.   I could have stopped and walked. I could have coasted in.  But I sprinted until I finished up. And did my legs burn. Sometimes the finish is the hardest part.  I was going to make sure I ran until the very end.

My project is like that. I have A LOT of work to do over the next five days.  My body is worn out and my mind is more so.  But I’m a pro. I train for this very thing.  I’m at the final hill. It’s time to charge up it like a winner.

Remember the "why"

Twenty miles into the Marine Corps Marathon, I had come to the 14th Street bridge (crossing the Potomac River.) I was still making great time and way ahead of my goal. The temperature had risen out of the upper 40’s (perfect for a marathon) to the low 70’s. My body was beginning to heat up as I rounded the National Mall.  As I crossed the Potomac, the wheels came off: I started to cramp.  And at moment, I really, really wanted to quit.

But I didn’t.

I pushed on and ran another 6.2 miles with the most vicious leg cramps I’ve ever experienced.  Pictures taken of me as I ran through Crystal City look like I’m passing a kidney stone.  My face betrayed the pain pulsing through my body.  But I kept pushing forward.  And I crossed the finish line at the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington in triumph.

But as I look back, I now know why I didn’t quit.  I knew my “why.”

My “why” was that I was running to raise money for melanoma research.  I raised $13,000 and wanted to make the donors proud. I was running in memory of Jimmy Riley, a good man who had died from the disease I was running to fight.  I kept moving because I had endured so much that I wasn’t going to stop so close to the finish line.  I wanted to finish badly to complete my goal.

The “why” pushed me through my leg cramps.  The “why” pushed me through wanting to quit.  The “why” earned me a medal around my neck.

I’ve seen cancer survivors overcome really dismal odds because they focused on their “why.”  “Why am I going to beat cancer? Because I want to see my children grow up.” The “why” is the pilot light of motivation.  The “why” is what you live for. Remember that when you exercise. “I can get up this hill because I’m going to lose 20 lbs.” Or when you are dealing with something frustrating at work or in life.

Here are a few of my why’s:

Why am I exercising?  “I exercise to have the energy to give my family the attention they deserve and to achieve all my personal and physical goals.  I exercise to maintain good health.”

Why do I go to work everyday? “My mission is to help other people through laughter and information.  I believe that I should use my talent to the fullest (see the Parable of the Talents) and that to do so is saying thank you for being allowed to survive cancer.”

I have a long list of “whys” that motivate me.  Another is: Why do I live here? “I love Mississippi and see the great potential of its people.”  See?  The “why” is a powerful motivator.  The “why” gets you out of the bed in the morning.

Recently, I saw Simon Sinek’s video on TED (you ought to watch TED videos if you get a chance).  Sinek pretty much sums up everything I believe about the importance of the question “why.”

Find your purpose and pursue it. Find your “why.”  And when you do, quitting no longer is an option. No matter how bad the situation gets.

I ran 5.25 miles this morning and burned off 853 calories.  Saw the sun starting to rise and almost felt a little bit of coolness in the air.  It was a good run, fatigue and all. Thought about some work problems I’m having and the run helped.

Ever have one of those days when you’re just not feelin’ it? You know, one of those days when you don’t want to go to work.  Heck, you don’t even want to get out of bed. But you do it anyway.  Not because you’re some kind of super hero. No, you just know that you have a job to do so you just get moving.

This morning was one of those mornings for me. I didn’t feel like running. I didn’t really even want to get out of bed.  I actually woke up five minutes before my alarm went off (4:21 a.m. to be exact) and just laid there. I so wanted to go back to sleep.  My mind drifted back toward dreamville. But I fought its siren song by swinging my feet around and placing them firmly on the floor.

My legs were sore from yesterday’s 10 mile sweat run and a felt a painful tightness in my right calf.  But I knew I would have to run today to loosen it up.  I got ready, stretched and headed out in the warm syrupy morning.

I ran a 5K and burned a little over 500 calories.  That’s a good morning’s work. Not my usual five miles, of course, but my legs needed a break.  I’m relieved I had enough inner discipline to get out there today and get my exercise in.

Some mornings are easy. Some mornings aren’t. Life’s like that. This morning wasn’t easy. But even though I was just not feelin’ it,  I got it done.

That’s the difference between success and failure. And that’s how I’ll go from Fit-to-Fat-to-Fit.

Goal Weight: 195 lbs.

Today’s Weight: 195 lbs.

I did it.  I finally hit the 195-pound goal.  But I’ll have to add an asterisk on it — almost like Barry Bond’s home run record.  Why?  I weighed myself after I ran 10 miles today.  And I probably sweated off seven pounds.  How much did I sweat you ask? I had to wring out my socks twice. It was that hot. And it was that muggy.  Let’s just say August lived up to its reputation.

The sunrise was glorious. I caught the giant red orb right as it was about to head into a bank of clouds. My little iPhone camera couldn’t quite do the sun’s beauty justice.  I took a nice photo of it when I got to the Ross Barnett Reservoir. Then I kept running.

I planned a route that would take my to a water fountain at the halfway point. I ran through the Reservoir Park in Ridgeland and then by the Cock of the Walk. I then ran out onto a jetty near Phillip’s Restaurant.  The sun had come up a bit more and I got a nice photo of the sun and some docks.  That’s when I noticed one of the truths of life.  As I ran, I noticed the sun’s reflection on the water followed me.  And then I realized if another runner had been a two hundred yards ahead of me, that same reflection would be following him at the same time I thought it was following me. Reality is how we interpret what we “see.”   Our brains translate the facts at hand. Hills are hills. Heat is heat. If you think things are bad, they’re bad.

Yes, my mind dives into crazy deep thoughts when I run.

Of course, I ran the way I ran expecting to find that water fountain I mentioned at the halfway point. But when I got there, it was gone.  I had drank most of my water and had another five miles left in the run.  Thankfully, I found a water source at mile seven.  I needed it.

Ten miles of sweat and thinking. Now it’s time to get to work.