I couldn’t write without asking my lifetime editor Randy Martin for his take on how to approach this marathon of an event that has us running in a race we may not be prepared to run. And, not surprisingly his perspective was not what I expected — but very much why I rely on him to vet my writing. He makes me look at things differently and often starts off sounding like a contrarian but ends up lighting up my view.

He spoke like he was running: fast and furious; and made it hard for me to keep up.

He started by saying:

“I don’t know that this is a marathon. I don’t what this is. No one knows what it is. No one can tell me when it actually started. And like being in a marathon pack, I can’t see ahead of me or behind me and so I don’t know where I am in the race or what to expect.

 

“I cannot accurately gauge the need for speed or pacing or difficulty.

 

“For all I know this is an Ironman — 100 miles straight through. Eat on the run. Run with your eyes open but your brain disengaged from thought.
‘‘However, I can’t worry about what kind of race it is. I am in the race.

“So, along the way I am going make decisions on what’s the best use of my time, on what appears to me, and how I plan to use my resources. From the list I prepare each day, I pick what seems to be the most important to do. Or I shift to an item that I can complete quickly if I need to strengthen my resolve by increasing or improving my confidence in going forward.

“Every choice requires that I must judge whether I need to reserve energy or pour it on. Since I don’t know all that I need to know, I choose not to worry.

“I will trust my initial responses to the stimuli that surround me. I trust my brain, my experiences, and knowing what to do next. I just have to believe that I have the experience that I need to find each answer.

“Knowing that everyone else is in the same place as I am …. I am feeling comfortable.”

He isn’t breathing heavy after rattling off all of his thought. I am left breathless trying to keep up and yet this is why I have chosen to run next to Randy for my entire career. His response to most challenges is, “We will get it done.”

And, he never leaves me behind.

Leslie

PS. I have sought out seven of the many people whose opinions I value and asked them to answer the same question about the marathon we find ourselves in. The blogs with their answers continue tomorrow and end this Friday. I hope you’ll find what these folks have to say to be interesting. And valuable.