the morning shakeout | issue 518
Simple truths to find your footing when life's moving too fast, Steve Kerr on taking the game-winning shot, a couple thoughts on Chicago, and a lot more.
Good morning! It’s great to be back in the newsletter writing chair after a few weeks away. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and support as I’ve been navigating a busy and overwhelming stretch of life.
I went back and forth about how much to share publicly in this week’s issue of the newsletter and I’ve decided to keep things private, at least for now. I will say that I’ve been traveling nonstop over the past month for both personal and professional reasons and it’s the longest I’ve ever been away from home. The forced removal from my usual environment and routine provided me a lot of time to reflect on some of the things I’ve been working through and lessons I’m learning (mostly being reminded of, really) along the way. I’m offering up a few of them here in the hopes that they may help you or someone else:
— If you’re struggling with something, no matter how big or small, be willing to ask for and accept help. Admittedly, I’m not great at this, but I’ve been working on it and it’s making a real difference.
— The most important thing in life is to show up for, spend time with, and support the people you love. If there’s been a through line to the past month for me, this was it.
— Hit the brakes every once in a while (on running, work, and/or your regular routine), or you will crash (physically, mentally, and/or emotionally). I’ve gotten a lot better at this over the years but taking a little time recently to slow things way down has allowed me to keep the car on the road, so to speak.
— If you’re looking for a life hack that actually works, reduce your screen time. (The irony here is not lost on me, I know.) It’s amazing how much better I’ve felt not sitting in front of a computer most of the day.
— Nature nurtures calm and connection. I get outside every day without fail, but over the past four weeks I spent more time than usual in nature, which helped to reset my nervous system while strengthening my connection to the place itself and the person(s) I was sharing it with.
Now, it goes without saying that none of these insights are revolutionary or mind-blowing or even novel. They’re just simple truths and important reminders that have helped me find my footing when life starts moving a little too fast. Please let me know if any of them resonate, and/or share them with someone who might also need a reminder or two.
Quick Splits
— Leading the way at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday was Jacob Kiplimo, the half-marathon world-record holder from Uganda who was tackling the full distance for the second time. After a bonkers start (13:58 opening 5K!) and world-record split at halfway, he slowed a bit in the second half to win in 2:02:23, the second-fastest time in Chicago history. Objectively it was an impressive performance but performances are anything but objective these days and as much as I want to be excited about it, it’s hard to be. Why? All else aside, it’s the company he keeps that troubles me the most. Kiplimo’s agent is Federico Rosa, whose track record is, shall we say, not exactly the cleanest. It doesn’t help either when Kiplimo is asked a completely fair question before the race about whether or not he’s concerned by the number of Rosa’s athletes who’ve been suspended for positive doping tests and this is how he and his handlers react to it. Now, it should be noted that Kiplimo has never failed a drug test and for all I know he very well may be as clean as a whistle. But why an athlete of his stature—he doesn’t need Rosa as much as Rosa needs him at this point of his career—continues to be represented by the most sullied agent in the sport is beyond me. Further, why the Chicago Marathon and other races in the Marathon Majors series continue to do business with Rosa given the long list of high-profile athletes he’s represented that have failed doping tests is one of the biggest travesties in professional running today. As it stands, any athlete who has been found guilty of a doping offense is no longer welcome at WMM races, much less eligible for appearance fees or prize money. So why do their agents continue to get a free pass over and over and over again? Of course, every big race wants to boast top talent, exciting competition, and fast times, but if race directors and elite athlete coordinators are serious about helping to clean up the sport, I think they need to stop signing contracts with agents who’ve screwed them (not to mention other competitors, fans of the sport, sponsors, etc.) over on more than one occasion.
— Femke Bol, the two-time world champion in the 400m hurdles who also owns two Olympic bronze medals in the event, is moving up to the 800m next season. For the past four years, I’ve been telling anyone who would listen that she’s an 800m runner disguised as a 400m hurdler, though I never actually thought she’d make the jump to the unobstructed two-lap event. (And why would she? She’s been no worse than third in the world in her primary event over that same span!) But here we are, and I, for one, am very excited about this unexpected development. There’s bound to be a bit of a learning curve (four, in fact!) as she tacks another full circuit onto her regular work assignments, but I also think she’s going to take to it rather quickly. How quickly? Sub-1:53 by the 2028 Olympics in L.A., and a global medal or two to boot. Yes, that quickly. She’s got the speed, the strength, the stride, and the racing chops to be the best in the world. [On that note: Save this email for future reference.]
— This post by Steve Magness on “toughness,” or the differences between tolerating pain, suffering, and performing, is the antithesis to everything you’ll see from the influencer of the month on Instagram, which is exactly why everyone should read it and share it far and wide. As Magness writes, it’s important to develop a wide range of tools to help us work through any number of challenging situations we might face as athletes or in other areas of life where we’re trying to perform at a high level. Sometimes you’ve got to push through, other times you need to let go, or on occasion you might need to pivot and go in an entirely different direction. “Toughness is about trying to create space so you can take the right action. It’s a decision-making process,” he explains. “Tolerance or thinking that toughness is solely about suffering can move us away from making the right decision.”
— This episode of the Glue Guys Podcast with Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr is a must-listen for coaches and leaders at any level, in any domain. Kerr isn’t just a world-class coach, he seems to be a gold-standard human. In this conversation with Alex Smith, Shane Battier, and Ravi Gupta, he talks about what it means to have a championship mindset, the importance of being guided by your core values, prioritizing process over outcome, and a lot more. There’s a mountain of gold in this one, but my favorite moment was when Kerr talked about being the athlete who wants to take the game-winning shot. It’s a literal thing in the NBA, of course, but also a fitting analogy for so many other areas of life, i.e., not shying away from trying to make something happen when the pressure’s on, whether that’s on the race course, in the office, or some other high-pressure environment. Kerr admits that even the players who live for those moments—the Michael Jordans and Steph Currys of the world—make those shots less than half the time. So what do you do when the game’s on the line? “What I finally learned to do is just say, ‘f*ck it,’ and let it fly,” he admits. “The whole key is you just can’t think about the repercussion of the result. But it’s easier said than done. And that’s where mindfulness comes in—putting yourself in the moment, not allowing any distraction—and the overall feeling of going out there and just saying, ‘I’m going for it. I’m going for it.’”
+ In the podcast Ravi Gupta mentioned the poem “Ithaka,” which I hadn’t come across before, so I went looking for it. Here it is for anyone who wants to check it out and reflect upon its message. The main takeaway is that the journey is the reward, or, as C. P. Cavafy writes in the third stanza:
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
+ I sent the aforementioned podcast to my good buddy Brad Stulberg and he expanded upon Kerr’s mantra in this post on the difference between having a “performance approach” mindset versus a “performance avoidance” mindset. “A performance avoidance mindset is when you play not to lose,” he writes. “You are tight and fearful and trying to prevent things from going wrong. A performance approach mindset is one where you play to win. You are loose, relaxed, and having fun.”
— A month or so ago my Apple Music app recommended a new release to me and I couldn’t press play fast enough when I saw it was an acoustic cover of Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Love Is” by Iron & Wine + Ben Bridwell. It’s fantastic. At risk of aging myself, I probably heard the original version several hundred times back in the late 80s/early 90s on Worcester’s WXLO, better known as the radio station we listened to around our house and in my parents’ car all day every day. Sam [Beam, aka Iron & Wine] and Ben [lead singer of Band of Horses] did an awesome job with their rendition of it, maintaining the spirit of this soft rock classic while also managing to modernize it in a stripped-down, contemplative way. 12/10 recommend.
— From the archives (Issue 362, 3 years ago this week): At the end of her newsletter last week, Sarah Lavender Smith linked tothis New York Times article on the “little rituals that keep us going” and it got me thinking about my daily non-negotiables when I’m at home. I thought I’d share them here: 1. Setting up my Aeropress and putting water in the kettle before I go to bed at night. When I come downstairs the next morning I walk through the kitchen and turn on the range en route to taking Tahoe out to the back patio for his morning constitutional. After I make my cup of coffee, I sit on the couch and read while he chews his bone on the floor in front of me. 2. I make the bed before I head downstairs in the morning. My Mom instilled the importance of this in me as a kid and I haven’t missed a day in well over 30 years at this point. 3. Tahoe’s second walk of the day. Sometimes his morning walk gets absorbed by my morning run but he never lets me forget the evening stroll: 5 o’clock every day but Wednesday, when he comes and gets me at 4 because he knows I leave early to coach track that night.
My good friends at Tracksmith recently launched their annual Fall Collection and it’s pretty sweet! I got a pair of the new Harrier Shorts, which feature a unique Merino blend, and they’re perfect for these October days when it’s not quite cold enough for tights yet. These semi-splits feature a longer inseam and provide a little more coverage without restricting your range of motion. Plus, they don’t smell when you sweat in them! If you want to check out anything from the Fall Collection (or buy anything on Tracksmith.com for that matter) between now and the end of 2025, use the code “MARIO15” for $15 off an order of $75 or more. (Note: The code is good for one use between now and the end of the year.)
Workout of the Week: The 5 x 5
One of my favorite all-purpose workouts to assign my athletes, whether they’re burning rubber on the track, shredding grass on the cross-country course, kicking up dirt on the trails, locking into a rhythm on the roads, or doing some combination of the aforementioned, is the 5 x 5. Here are the details.
The bottom line.
“Rest and be kind. You don’t have to prove anything.”
— Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums
That’s it for Issue 518. Please forward this email to a friend, share the web link on social media and/or in your group chats, or reply to me directly at your own risk.
Thanks for reading,
Mario
Someone gave me a copy of that poem, Ithaka, while I hiked the PCT, and it has always stuck with me. Cool to see you sharing it too!
Meant to say thanks for recommending the Glue Guys podcast. Steve Kerr is always worth listening to.