Here's me and Di crossing the finish line. I'm the bigger blur of the two 
Twenty nine and half hours ago I crossed the fished line along with my wife (who actually had to DEcondition to keep up with me) at the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon.
My time: 5 hours 41 minutes.
This was my first marathon and I only trained for six and a half weeks. (DO NOT EVER DO THAT – but I had a point to prove, and so I did).
My inner thighs are killing me. My hips feel like they were stretched apart.
Then there’s my butt…
When I go to sit in chair my left butt cheek cramps up on me and I go into instant clench mode. My hamstrings – a mess.
A few hours after eating my first carb meal (after four days of depleting).
My knees hurt – but my left knee the one that got reconstructed twice is in pain that exceeds the day I tore my ACL. And for some reason it’s currently boycotting me. That’s fine with me, because I refuse to give it ice. We’ll see who wins this one!
My ankles are stiff, sore, and rickety. I used to think that I’d lose a toe nail but now I realize I might actual lose a toe (or two).
My calves are balled up and in per-ma-cramp and my toes will randomly curl and lock up for no reason.
Then there’s my upper body… and I’m not even gonna bother telling you what’s sore, what’s cramped and what’s twitching uncontrollably.
I guess when you carry more muscle than the average marathon runner and weigh 220 lbs then you’re gonna have a little bit of pain.
But I’d do the whole thing all over again and wouldn’t change a thing about my training, the pain and the lessons learned prepping for and during these 26.2 miles.
I put together these lessons thinking they might help you too. But before you read them, here’s a little video we made documenting my run in case you want highlights of my run.
See, this was Di’s 7th marathon and since she had to run at a slower pace to keep up with me she had plenty of time to crack jokes and video tape my run.
26.2 Things I learned About Life and Business Running a Marathon
1. Preparation pays off. While I only had six and a half weeks to prep for my first marathon I knew that as long as I got a training plan from an expert, and stuck to it that I’d cross that finish line.
That expert was Jill Bruyere, marathon training expert, one of my top info marketing mastermind members and creator of http://BreakYourPR.com
2. The sound of your first name is the sweetest sound you’ll ever hear. This is a statement that Brian Tracy made in one of his sales books I read years ago. I happened to have my “I am Bedros” shirt on and it was so cool to hear people cheering me on by my first name.
3. Have good support around you. Support is everything. I had my wife cheering my along during the run. I had you all pumping me up on Facebook each time I’d add more mileage to my training runs and I had my bff and his beautiful wife there in San Diego to watch our kids. Have a support system.
4. Don’t make mountains out of molehills - if you build things up in your mind you’ll get psyched out. I think this is the number one reason people never achieve their goals. They give up way before they start. I had a goal… to run a marathon and I went out and did it. Didn’t think about it, analyze it, or wait for the perfect time. I just did it. Hum… “Just do it” – pretty catchy.
Here's Di before the race. She was pretty much happy like this throughout the entire race. I wasn't.
5. Acknowledge then destroy negative self talk. Guess what? You’re human, and you’re gonna have negative self talk when things get tough. I know I did from mile number 18 all the way to mile 25. The trick is to know that you’re having it, and then to tell yourself to shut up, and plow forward.
6. Trust people who are experts to teach you. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel.
7. Leverage every opportunity to deliver value and extract money. When we got to the marathon expo the day before they coral you though the merchandise section after you complete your registration. Are you leveraging every opportunity to deliver value and make money?
8. Strike when the iron is hot. People signed up for future marathons at the expo. See the desire to buy is not satisfied when you make a purchase, its actually agitated
9. Success is 1% information and 99% application.
10. In the process of challenging yourself to achieve something great there is personal growth that is greater.
11. When you break through your perceived capabilities then your set point for other achievements is broken too and the bar is automatically set higher.
12. Get out of your mental comfort zone-muscles expand when you give it resistance and you’re mind expands when you step out of your comfort zone.
13. Coming together with like-minded people is inspiring. Find the folks you want to be like and get together with them often.
14. The art of puffery. Thousands of people volunteered to cheers the runners on. It felt good to be puffed up throughout the entire race. When was the last time YOU puffed up your staff, partner, clients, friends, or family members?
15. The right equipment and resources equal great results. I could run in my chucks and basketball short but that would have been a mess. Instead I invested in the right shoes, shorts, and thanks to Jeff Sherman – Nip Guards (if you’re a guy and you run without these then you’re CRAZY. Unless the idea of bleeding nipples works for you.) The right resources are critical to success.
16. Don’t overwhelm yourself by looking too far ahead-size up the next thing and do it. When the race started I didn’t look for mile marker 26, I just looked for marker number 2, then 3, then, 4, ect. I do the same in business.
Guess which two toe nails are goona fall off soon?
17. Do things in order.
18. Be willing to work hard.
19. Celebrate your mini wins-it pushes you to accomplish more.
20. Be willing to do whatever it takes. For me it was having to run at midnight most of the time. But I was willing to do that because I wanted to spend time with my wife and kids and then train.
21. Lead by example-you tell your clients to get out of their comfort zones, so you do the same.
22. Embrace pain - it is an indication of progress. Only dead people feel no pain.
23. Ignore the haters. You’re always gonna have people who tell you that you can’t do it. Ignore the haters.
24. Put your head on the chopping block- stick to your commitment by telling everyone your goal and deadline.
25. Your mind and body are infinitely more resilient than you give it credit for.
26. Have target lock-on. It’s a game of metal toughness.
.2. Craig Ballantyne was right. Cut all your deadlines in half. I did and ran this marathon, and now I’m about to start my next “6 week get out of my comfort zone” program.
Click here to learn how you can get your own custom branded online magazine and building
your email list of clients, leads, and subscribers.
