Rob Mackay :: Notes from the edge

I’ve been thinking about this for a few months and made the decision on my holidays that I am spending far too much time on the computer and not enough time addressing some of the priorities in my life. Computer time, in most cases if we are honest with ourselves, is wasted time. In the end, blogging doesn’t make me a better athlete and if you really need to know my thoughts, email me and we can go for coffee. (robertmackay@shaw.ca) I’d rather be running…

Thanks to Jarhead and Pano for creating the blog for me, it’s been interesting (at least from my standpoint) and I’ve hopefully become a better writer.

See you on the trails. Rob

It’s a hell of a lot easier to predict your finish time at a race than to run it. If you’ve never run the distance in the context of an actual race (i.e. you’ve run the distance in training but not with the timer running, people jostling for position, etc…), only in training, more often than not I can bet that you predict a faster time than you actually run. I’ve done it as well.

I’m on holidays right now so training has been sparse/none BUT I’m looking forward to the JDF this Saturday as it could be a great training distance for future races.

(I know there is talk about breaking the ’speed’ record for the trail but I suspect we’d get a ’so what?’ from the ultra world. In any case, it’s harmless fun to see if someone can at least set an ‘official’ fastest time. I’ve offered up a case of beer to the ‘winner’…)

It will be interesting to see how everyone manages the distance.

On holidays starting today

If my hunch is correct, you and I probably spend most of our day on email. Reading and responding to, for the most part, unimportant messages. ‘Unimportant’ defined as ‘not critical to answer in the next 4 hours’. ‘Critical’ defined as ‘I could really blow this apart if they don’t get an answer right away’.

Our Speed of Response seems to define us. The quicker we hit reply and answer back, the better. Is it efficient, possibly. Is it effective, nope.

On that note, one day I’d like to do a study to see what the real business cost is to an email sent that is supposed to have an attachment but the person forgets to add the attachment. You know the ones, “I’ve attached to this email…blah, blah.” People respond back “Was there supposed to be an attachment, yadda?” Then it’s “Ooops, please find the attachment in this email…”

Add up the salary time wasted on that scenario and I bet it costs North American business millions…

Humans - if we are still here - will be looking back on the way we currently work and have a laugh. Thoreau wrote, “It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about?”

Spending 90% of our time ‘going through the motions’ isn’t productive. Spending 90% of our time to create only 10% in results is a tragedy.

I started reading The Four Hour Work Week last night and honestly haven’t put it down until now. Bright lights and Anthony Robbins style writing usually send me running so when I picked up the book at the library and looked at the cover, my eyes rolled.

My eyes rolled back when I started reading, though. I was suprised. The message isn’t a new one but the presentation is good and the author, Timothy Ferriss, is undeniably intelligent (on many levels).

I think what I appreciate most is his frankness. He takes a ‘cut the shit’ attitude towards his own term, lifestyle design. He states at the outfront something that I know but sometimes forget. Successful people take action. Thinking is great but it’s better to be moving forward and correcting your path than planning perfection. He also asks ‘what are you so scared of…?’, and ‘what are you waiting for….?’. Great questions to someone who defaults into ‘bag lady thinking’ when contemplating the future. (ie. if I make a bad decision, quit my unfufilling job or get fired or whatever, I will end up penniless and on the street.)

Full book report to come.

On another note, I’ve decided that I spend too much time on the computer. (wasted time) I’m committed to keep up the blog, for now, but will be weaning myself on internet/email.