The Dubai Jogger: The First Race

As the Dubai running season gets into full swing and the weather allows us to continue training outdoors, for any readers who are thinking about improving their well-being by starting a fitness routine there is no better time than right now.

This past weekend I and a couple bootcamp recruits joined two hundred other people and ran our first race of the season.  A 4km run at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.  It was a successful event, and a good run for me personally.  I ran well and gave myself hope for faster times to come later in the season.

For people who ran the 4km or 8km distance for the first time, they got a taste of the positive effects adrenalin has on the body, and also felt that great feeling of accomplishment crossing the finish line and achieving a great goal. 

As I outlined in a previous post here, setting a finishing time goal allows you to build a training plan and it also helps you focus on your own individual effort during the race rather then worrying about what other runners are doing.

If you need some motivation and or direction to get started come and join us at one of our bootcamp classes across Dubai.  We have classes for both beginners and advanced fitness levels. 

The camaraderie in the group classes helps everyone develop confidence in themselves and their abilities and we often enter running events like the one held on the weekend.

Drop me and email at christrainer@fitness02.com if you have any questions or comments or would like information on starting a fitness routine for yourself.

Links

http://www.premiermarathons.com/ - Calendar and signup for running fixtures in the UAE

Jerry Maguire: "I'm all heart $&#@*&!"

Some of our staff being movie buffs, we decided to start a series of posts on sports in movies, get a discussion going on what we can learn in terms of inspiration, "tipping points" and what separates good or plain mediocrity from greatness.

The first movie in this series is one very dear to my heart, not because of its cheesyness but really because of its humanity and evolution of characters: Jerry Maguire (1996, starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., in case you have not seen this movie, I highly recommend it).

What I would like to share with you is a very iconic but pivotal scene in the movie: it's the scene where Tom Cruise bluntly tells Cuba Gooding Jr., a mediocre NFL player, what the real reason for his mediocrity is.  The scene is a tipping point in Cuba Gooding Jr.'s season in the NFL, he actually ends up bruised, injured game after game, but finishes the season with flying colors and wins a multi-million dollar contract.

Before we conclude with what the lessons are from this scene, here it is, PS: the scene contains foul language, so PG13 please:

This scene is really about what separates mediocrity from greatness, and the answers are:

1. Attitude (play with heart!): want the change, and act on it
2. Will power (play with heart!): if you fall, dust it off, stand up and try again, don't be discouraged
3. Responsibility: don't blame circumstances, take responsibility and do it.

The movie is filled with other messages about relationships between husband/wife as well as between friends, the evolution of both Tom Cruise's and Cuba Gooding's characters is brilliant, they both add to one another's lives.  

Your turn: What did you think of this scene and what key messages did you like?  please feel free to share your thoughts below...