Subtitle: The
Black Cactus (Introductory Mini-Blog)
Posted on July 5th, 2022
By Olivia Baker
Last Sunday at the AJC Peachtree Road Race Expo, I got
to take a step into Abdi's world for a moment and sit down with him for a
couple of hours at his book table. Between the constant flow of people asking
for pictures and autographs, and our brief moderated Q&A session, I enjoyed
having the opportunity to pick his brain about a few things. One thing I
immediately asked him about was where the "Black Cactus" nickname came from.
After all, it is in the subtitle of his book. I had thought that maybe it had
come more recently and was a nod to his longevity in elite running, but
actually, he told me that it came from the suggestion of one of his neighbors at
a training camp location in Flagstaff, Arizona back in 2006. This neighbor was
a jokester and simply quipped one day that because Abdi is of African descent
and is from Tuscon, Arizona (where there are apparently a lot more cactuses), that
he should be called the "Black Cactus". Abdi thought it was a cool and unique
nickname, a rare commodity in the distance running world these days, and ran
with it.
It is still possible that the reason that his neighbor
thought of 'cactus' as a fitting nickname had to do with Abdi's longevity in
the sport to that point—in 2006, he was 29 and had already been to two Olympics.
That's a pretty illustrious career in and of itself by most standards. However,
the fact that the nickname came before a career that would continue to last 16+
more years (and is still going, he ran 29:59 at Peachtree yesterday) hints at
something deeper to me. Maybe I'm reading too far into it, but what if the
nickname became somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy? His neighbor gave him
the nickname, he embraced it, repeated it to himself and others, and ended up becoming
the only American distance runner in history to compete at 5 Olympic Games. I'm
not suggesting direct cause and effect here, but there is something to be said
for the benefits of mentally visualizing, embracing, and believing for an
outcome before it ever comes to fruition so, coincidence? I think not.
Discussion Questions:
1. What
is your favorite nickname (for yourself or someone else) and where did it come from?
2. What
are you hoping to learn from this month's book?
Subtitle: What Inspires You? (Mini-Blog #1)
Posted on July 12th, 2022
By Olivia Baker
Throughout the first two parts of Abdi's World
by Abdi Abdirahman, we get to learn a lot about how he first started running.
We read through when he first joined the cross-country team at 19 years old at Pima
Community College to his transition to competing at the University of Arizona (meeting
Dave Murray who would be his longtime coach), and qualification for his first
Olympic Team at age 23. Within the whirlwind of success that was the first
several years of his running career, one thing that stood out to me was that
Abdi never seemed to waver in his motivation. Sometimes achieving immediate success
can have the effect of causing someone to rest on their laurels and enjoy the
feeling of accomplishment, but Abdi manages to stay motivated by his love of
the sport and ability to find inspiration from all over.
Like you and I, Abdi found inspiration in many of the
great runners he watched compete as he was coming up in the sport (and who in
his case would soon become his greatest competition) like Meb Keflezighi,
Bernard Lagat, Adam Goucher and others. However, it was the runner who finished
a 3,000m race (pg# 29-30) almost a lap behind the pack that inspired him to get
out there and give track a try to begin with. Upon beginning to run, he then
found that just running made him happy. He developed a healthy appreciation for
the effort that it takes to be a runner at every level and drew encouragement
from each stop along his ascent careful to be inspired but avoid comparison.
Perhaps such joy and continuous inspiration are keys to the longevity of his
career. Furthermore, it just goes to show that you truly never know when you
are inspiring someone simply by keeping on going.
Discussion Question:
1. Who
inspires you to keep on running, walking, or jogging?
Subtitle: The
Benefits of a Humble Mindset (Mini-blog #2)
Posted on July 21st, 2022
By Olivia Baker
Upon joining Atlanta Track Club, I knew I was walking
into the lion's den. I hadn't trained with other mid distance athletes in the first
3 years of my professional career and now I was walking into a group with two
who had run significantly faster than I in my event (the 800m) and others who were
elite in the 1500m, 5k, 10k, and marathon. I looked forward to a very difficult
fall training season and I can see why Abdi discusses this same feeling in his
build up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After placing 15th in the 10k
in Athens in 2004, he wanted to not only be the best in the US, but the best in
the world, and in order to be the best, he knew that he needed to train with
the best.
He started going up to Flagstaff for training stints
at altitude alongside the likes of Mo Farah, Bernard Lagat, and Meb Keflezighi
among other all-time greats and struggled mightily at times. He regularly got
dropped on runs with Mo Farah. Bernard Lagat (primarily a 1500m runner at the
time) dusted him in the track workouts. This is what fall/winter training felt
like for me too! But rather than be embarrassed or discouraged, he humbly
accepted the challenge and though he ended up placing 15th in the
10k again in Beijing, he ended the year having run faster in every race from
10k to marathon than he ever had before (I can attest to similar gains from 800
to 5k though my year isn't over yet)!
This same idea works whether you are training to be
the best in the world or simply your best you! One of the quickest ways to
improve is to place yourself in an environment of people better than you and
then humbly accept the challenge set before you. So, this week, step up to the
faster group in your run. If you're a 9:30/mile runner, I challenge you to join
the 9:00/mile group for a day (and get to know a new run lead while you're at
it). Step out of the comfort zone. It will most certainly be challenging, but
both mentally and physically, the gains will be immeasurable.
Discussion Questions:
1. Have
you tried joining the faster group on a run or walk before? What was the
outcome?
2. In
what other areas of life do you have opportunities to step up to the "faster"
group?
Subtitle:
Abdi's Habits For Living a Happy Running Life (Mini-blog #3)
Posted on July 26th, 2022
By Olivia Baker
One of the things I was most interested in learning
when choosing this book was what things have allowed Abdi to have such longevity
in his running career and in the closing chapters, he shares that with us. In short,
there are 5 rules that he has lived by throughout his entire career and plans
to continue to follow long after professional running is over. They go as
follows:
1) [Be]
Rock steady. Abdi prioritizes not getting too high or
too low under any circumstances. Both disappointment and happiness are fleeting,
and it is important to be able to overcome both (pg# 259). For me, this means giving
myself 24 hours after a race to celebrate a good run or sulk about a bad one.
Once that time is up, it's time to move on to the next one.
2) Practice
balance. Chasing a goal requires incredible focus, but
in order to avoid burnout, it is important to cultivate other interests as
well. As Abdi says, if you are too single-minded, you'll miss the humor and
kindness around you (pg#259).
3) Stick
with what works. Developing a reliable routine is
key to longevity. Having such stability in training and racing can minimize injury
risk and leave an athlete more prepared to handle unexpected situations.
4) Play
the long game. This one could have been guessed.
Someone who wants to have a long career will definitely need to make decisions in
the short term to support that vision. In Abdi's case, we see this directly
when he chooses to drop out of the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials altogether rather
than take painkillers and try to run on a calf that hadn't fully healed. He
sacrificed in the short term to avoid the risk of developing a more serious
injury and jeopardizing his longer-term racing.
5) Give
yourself 10 minutes. Practical advice for runners of all
abilities. On the days when it is hard to get out of the door, commit to the
first 10 minutes of activity. If you still don't want to run or don't feel good
after 10 minutes, you can stop, but if you're like me, this one works every
time.
While I am not someone who anticipates having a very
long career in this sport (medical school calls in the near future for me), I
think that this is great advice for anyone who wants running, walking, or
jogging to be a part of their lives for a long time. We may not all be amazingly
talented and durable like Abdi, but we can all learn from him ways to love
running in our own capacity for a very long time.
Discussion Questions:
1. Which
of Abdi's habits for living a happy running are you already applying? Which
ones are you interested in embracing more?
2. What
are your final takeaways from Abdi's World?