Tactical Patience

Reading the great article on soldiers in the December 2006 issue of Runner's World I came away with two outstanding paragraphs.

At one point an extemely high-ranking officer came through a crowd I (RW correspondant) was in, and all the men stood at attnention and saluted. This left me felling embarrassed and out of step. I didn't wnat to seem disrespectful. "I shouldn't salute?" I asked (Princeton grad, Captain) Bardenwerper. "No, " he said. "You shouldn't salute." "So what should I do?" I thought of bowing.

"You're a civilian,"said Bardenwerper. "We're a democracy. You outrank everybody here."

Another is a great analogy of how I have instinctively trained for this ironman physically and mentally as best I can, using Tactical Patience.

The brigade I spent my time with in Germany is commanded by a fit, humorous officer who was reluctant to be interviewed because he thought the men should get the attention. Cornered, though, Col. Sean B. McFarland spoke movingly of Dave Wottle, who won the gold at 800 meters in the 1972 Olympics. Wottle, he said, "went from last place to first place for the win mostly in the last 200 meters. The famous 'kick' that won the race for him was an illusion, though. His 200 meter split times were amazingly consistant: 26.4, 26.9, 26.4, and 26.2. It was a phenomenal display of energy conservation. In the Army we call that 'tactical patience.'... I sometimes use the race as a metaphor to coach junior officers who want everything right away and worry when they see others advancing ahead of them... Energy conservation, even splits, or tactical patience all amount to the same principle. It's one of the things running taught me about life.

When I manage my tactical patience and all goes well in Florida, I am not trying to catch up to anyone, I am not trying to beat anyone except my own mind and body. I govern my body by perfect execution of my nutriton and form, keeping my body temperature regulated and my HR as low as possible while being as fast as possible. In my mind, I am out of T1 under two hours, I am consistant on my bike at 18 miles per hour and run a average pace of 11'30 miles. What comes will come.

Even. Blessed. Successful. Ironman.