I’m not a great runner, in fact, I’m not even a good runner ..

To be brutally honest.. I fucken suck at running!

And you know what? That’s just fine ..

Why?

I’ll tell you shortly, but first a bit of background info to set the scene ..

During my selection process we had 2 crucial running assessments ..

The 2.4km run carrying your webbing and rifle (this totalling 7kg) ..

And the 3.2km run carrying your webbing and rifle (totalling 7kg) ..

I passed the 2.4km run by 4 seconds .. and the 3.2km run by 12 seconds.

This is after previously failing them both.

Now ever since I was a kid I remember struggling with running and I’ve known for a long time this is one of my physical weaknesses ..

But for some reason I always thought that at some point I would get a lot better at it ..

I would somehow become a natural runner or be able to maintain a high level of running easily after consistent training ..

Did this ever happen?

Nope.

Whenever I had to complete a Basic Fitness Assessment in the regular Army .. I trained hard.

The run was a 2.4km run in normal PT clothes (no webbing or rifle). I remember having to train bloody hard just to run a decent time .. while some guys I knew would only do the bare minimum of training and others wouldn’t train at all ..

But we all managed to finish around the same time ..

Bastards!

Now this is just something I had to accept ..

I was a terrible runner .. and if I wanted to keep up with the pack I would simply have to put in the extra work.

Train harder ..

Train smarter ..

Train tougher.

The exact same thing occurred when I was in Special Forces ..

Each year we had to complete a Commando Fitness Assessment, which included the 2.4km run in webbing and rifle (7kg).

I dreaded that run.

I trained my arse off each and every time because I knew I needed to and I didn’t want to be THAT guy who failed and looked like a slug ..

I always finished towards the end of the pack ..

But I always passed .. always.

If you have a weakness and have to work on it 10x as hard as everyone else just to keep up ..

Then so be it .. too fucken bad.

That’s life and that’s just what you’ll have to do .. and probably forever ..

If you want to keep up ..

If you want to succeed ..

If you want to win.

Will your weaknesses ever get any easier?

Probably not ..

But who cares .. it’ll make you tougher .. more resilient .. more determined ..

It’ll make you better.

Knowing your weaknesses is a fundamental part of mental toughness development.

Be aware of exactly who you are ..

Acknowledge your shortcoming ..

Analyse them .. improve .. grow and build a stronger character and a tougher mindset.

You’ll be much better off for it.

Rhys Dowden

Operator Edge

Mindset is a choice

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P.S.

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