Marathon Tuesday

Alright we’ll start off by acknowledging the elephant in the room. My picks did not in fact break the masters. We had a couple winners, Finau day 1 top 5, Scheffler winner, Mickelson top senior, that if you tailed everything would’ve come out on top, but my personal picks just didn’t make the bacon the way we intended. We will build.

Spent Marathon Monday at the Sox game and seeing a friend finish the marathon at the finish line. It was an absolutely perfect day and even though the Red Sox got throttled to the tune of 6 runs in the last 4 innings after a great start by Kutter Crawford, it was a spectacular day in Boston.

I hadn’t been to the Marathon Monday Sox game since 2013. Walking in to Fenway I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for how the city has kept the spirit of one of Boston’s best days. In 2013 we went to the game, and met my family at Boston College to see my Dad run by his alma mater on his way to complete his first Boston, and final Marathon on his list after completing New York a few years prior. We loaded up onto the Greenline to meet him at the finish, but we never made it to Boylston. My Dad was about 2 miles from finishing when the terrorist attack occurred.

We stayed on the T as cops flew by on motorcycles and in the cruisers, having no idea what was happening. I received a text from a friend, who is now my wife, asking if we were okay. I think about that text every so often and the thoughtfulness of someone to immediately think of my family and I in the midst of the chaos. We reconnected in the following months, and we’ve been together for almost 11 years now.

I bring this story up because in 2015 my father had the opportunity to run again, and finished the race that he trained twice for, ran twice, and crossed the finish line once. We didn’t go to the Finish Line that year, and yesterday was my first time witnessing the chute down Boylston that all the runners work to make it towards. It’s an amazing spectacle, cheering for folks looking for the last boost and watching people of all shapes and sizes work their way towards their ultimate goal they have worked so hard to reach.

I was emotional thinking about my own pursuits of goals for myself. What do I care about so much that I would put myself through the training, the bad days, injuries, and setbacks to reach a goal. Sure, I hit 10,000 putts a summer, and work on funky chip shots, video tape my swing to dial in for the summer tournaments, but that’s truly something that gives me an immense amount of joy and happiness. I think about my broadcasting career and writing career that I have been chipping away at since my freshman year of college. I think of a lot of nights in cold rinks broadcasting women’s high school Hockey, cold spring days at Baseball fields just getting reps to try and build a tape that someone will see worthy of a big opportunity. That’s where the work is, and that’s where I’m continuing to put effort in on the weekends and weeknights when I’ve got all my work done.

I see this as my marathon, and like my dad, I see myself getting to the finish line in due time, even if it takes me a few tries to finally cross, but I’m looking around at the support and encouragement I get from family and friends as my race, as my way to continue to build and get strong and work my way towards the finish line.

I’m grateful for the recent opportunities I’ve had to call games on larger platforms and to challenge myself to prepare harder, to watch back and find areas of improvement. One of my favorite athletes, Jason Witten, has talked about the journey often, and as one of the longest tenured Cowboys in the Franchise History, he never achieved his ultimate goal of a Championship, but years of working towards that made him into the player he was, always looking to get better, looking to be a better leader, and looking introspectively on how he can help others.

"I was never the most talented, never the flashiest. I relied on grit. Other players might have been more talented, but I can assure you, no one was going to outwork me," he said. "Whenever young kids come up to me and ask me how do you grow up and play for the Dallas Cowboys have that type of career, my answer is always the same,' The secret is in the dirt.' I learned early on in my life through many challenges that I could change my circumstances with hard work, but I would have to be willing to go out and earn it. The sheer concentration that is required to pursue a dream, it's not for everyone, but it was for me. I yearned for the daily grind, and I couldn't get enough of it."

I try and keep that as a mantra, sometimes joking with myself at the driving range, or on the highway to a game that’s probably costing me more in gas than I’m making to work, the secret is always in the dirt, it’s the foundation for growth and for flourishing in life.

That’s why it’s so important to appreciate the little things along the way, the runners yesterday had supporters all along their journey, not just at the finish line. There were people along the route giving them the encouragement for their next stride, and more people waiting for them to continue on towards the goal.

I was with one of my best friends yesterday, and like everybody in the crowds we talked about whether we’d be able to run a marathon. I said to him, “let me know what you think tomorrow.” It’s easy to be at the finish line and think about how great that would feel. It’s hard to tie your shoes the first time and go for a 2 mile, 4 mile, 8 mile, 12 mile, 18 mile run on your path to the finish line. But the discipline, the training, the work, that’s the marathon, that’s the feat. The finish line is simply the realization of what that work has made you as a person and the impact you’re having on others as you raise money and finish the race.

I don’t plan on taking my short and stocky frame through a running journey anytime soon, but there’s plenty of other marathons to run, and I’m encouraged to tie my metaphorical sneakers and continue to work.

Thanks for reading

Back next week

TT