“It is being here now that is important. There’s no past and there’s no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now.” - George Harrison

Sharing lessons from my journey over the course of Legally Fit has allowed me to reflect in ways I might not otherwise have done. I’ve reached a deeper level of soul searching. That’s not to say that it takes writing a blog to discover what’s within one’s own self, but for me, it’s been the vehicle. Still, there are times when I find that I never even asked myself the obvious. That happened recently when I was asked a question that I had never been asked before – and somewhat surprisingly not asked myself. . . “What’s the most important thing you’ve learned on this journey?” For a minute, I froze. I was so accustomed to far more specific questions such as “What’s your workout routine?” or “What’s your diet?” So, I was dumbfounded at this simple question. After a brief pause, I knew the answer, but before I share it, I’ll go deeper into where it comes from.

When my journey began, I felt completely unbalanced. No, finding balance is not the answer, but it is perhaps a result of what I’m getting at – more on that later. My life felt like it was all about work – even when I wasn’t working. I worked long hours, but in between the time at work, I would stress over it. Even when I wasn’t doing my job, all I did was think about it. I found comfort in overeating, and I escaped by resting in front of the television or sleeping. But my mind was always somewhere else – it was still at work. I worried about how I would do all that I had to get done. I stressed over whether I would do it well. And I panicked over whether I missed anything. None of that made me better at work, and all of it made me worse at life.

A while back I shared a lesson from when I broke my foot while working out – not because of the exercise, but because I was thinking about work during the workout. I wasn’t focused on my next step when I misplaced my foot and fell. After that, I knew never to bring work into a workout again. There’s nothing I can do about it in the moment, and my mind should be on what I’m doing. It's a lesson I’ve carried forward to each workout, and I rarely if ever think about work or anything else while working out anymore. I’m not perfect, but it was a lesson learned. And I got better at it over time.

Of course, work isn’t the only stress. We all have those things that can occupy our minds even when it does no good. They can be big things in life like family, health, or finances, or they can feel like equally big things when stressing over social acceptance, dating, or loneliness. There’s an unlimited menu here, and what may be small for one person can be the source of another’s unending anxiety. At times, any of these can be enough to need help, and if that’s where you are, just know that there are people out there – whether family, friends, or professionals – from whom you should seek it. What I’m here to share is how I’ve gotten past some of it.

Breaking my foot may have taught me a lesson about what to do differently during a workout, but it didn’t fix everything. Yes, I learned to maintain my focus during my fitness routine, but once it was finished, it was time to go back to what I was worried about. I had no idea what the bigger lesson was yet. But sometimes, even though you may not know what that lesson is, you’re making progress towards learning it.

Staying in the moment during my workouts came with positive results. I didn’t just avoid whatever that next mishap was going to be. I also was better at working out. Focusing 100% gets better results than focusing any less than that.

Little by little, that fitness lesson made its way into other areas of life. I started to enjoy everything more because, from that workout lesson, I learned how to stay in the moment elsewhere too. Live music came back into my life in a big way, first because I was learning that I did better at work when I fed my soul outside of it, and second, because I once again knew how to enjoy it – by being present.

Ironically, this all made me a better lawyer too. One funny thing about not being in the moment outside of work because of work, is that it made it harder to be in the moment while at work too. Crazy how that works.

But just because I learned this lesson, didn’t mean I learned all that it had to give. I was better at staying present, but I was far from perfect. I’d venture to say that none of us are, but there are levels to this. Never more did I learn that than when I started climbing.

Climbing threw something new into the mix of staying in the moment . . . fear. Nowhere else is staying present more important. All I can do at any moment on the rock is whatever my next move is. That’s it. And the only way to make that move is to make sure that I am 100% there. Not thinking about what’s below or what’s above. Not thinking about the heat, the cold, or the pain. And certainly not thinking that I can’t do it. After all, it’s the only thing I can do in the moment, so it gets all of my focus. Yes, part of that moment includes a pause to assess how to take the fall if it happens. Another part is assessing what that next move may be once I make this one. But when it’s time to make the move, my mind is completely on the move.

In over 50 years, nothing taught me how to turn on that clarity in life like climbing has. It flipped a switch in me that made me realize that lesson from breaking my foot was not about working out, it was about everything in life. That lesson — and the answer to the question at the beginning of this post — is that I’ve learned how to stay in the moment. How to be present in everything I do.

Yet just as I thought I’ve found the Zen — thanks in large part to climbing — it turned out to be a moment while climbing recently that shined a light on just how far I still have to go to master it. You see, I thought that the one place I was unbreakably in the moment was on the rock. I’ve now been out there nearly 20 times, and it’s the only place where I felt perfect at this. Until I realized that I wasn’t. The short of it is that, on a recent climb, at a moment of fatigue and exhaustion, I lost it. I couldn’t figure out the crux move on a climb, and I caved. My focus was gone, and my mind was everywhere else but in the moment. I began to think about my marathon training, my need for sleep, and amazingly, even my work as I have been preparing for an upcoming trial. I’ve had moments of physical exhaustion out there before, but my focus always got me through them. This time, that focus was gone, and I was overwhelmed both physically and mentally. I needed Patty to give me an aid past the move. But even amid what felt like a relapse of my old self, I was keenly aware of one big difference. I recognized what what happening. Even when feeling myself fall out of focus, I had self-awareness of where I was in that moment. In the past, I might not have seen the difference. This time, I knew exactly when I came out of it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Legally Fit (@legallyfitblog)

When that climb was done, Patty, started the discussion of where we’d head for our next and last climb of the day. But I quickly let her know, that was it for me. I knew in the moment that my climbing day was over. I wasn’t there anymore, and right then, I couldn’t get back there. The moment I was in at that moment was an awareness of where I should be and where I should not be.

Even in the midst of losing it, everything about that day was perfect. My two climbs were beautiful, and just about all of the best climbing days come with something that takes me to my limit. If I leave a day without falling, I wonder what more I could have done. I left this day with no such feeling. What I did feel was a sense of balance – you see, I told you so in the beginning.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Legally Fit (@legallyfitblog)

These days, I’m balancing a ton. Marathon training, an upcoming trial, work travel, and getting in a few days of climbing whenever I can. Staying in the moment is about more than how I handle each one of these, it’s about how I handle it all – or at least as much as I can. I’m not perfect.

Aaron

Through the NYC Marathon on November 2, I’m including my full training updates below each blog post. More details on the past two weeks of my marathon training program are posted below. As always, the day and training plan workout are listed in bold. Particularly noteworthy days are marked with a (*) . . .

Sunday July 27 (14 weeks until the marathon): 40-minute easy pace run

3.8-mile run (40:03): I ran this one feeling much more recovered than the prior day where I ran 12-miles fatigued from a long work week. I was back on track!

Climbing (35:00): This was supposed to be an outdoor climbing day, but the weather said otherwise. Having to miss a full day outside at The Gunks is always disappointing, but it wasn’t the worst outcome in terms of where my body is. 35 minutes at the gym was all I had in me, but it was fun to be back climbing at the gym for the first time in over a month.

Contrast therapy: 24-minute sauna and stretch and one-minute ice bath.

Monday July 28: 40 minutes cardio + strength training

Swimming (40:00): Another one of my regular workouts that I do less frequently during marathon training. My swimming workouts are typically 20-30 minutes, so this was bigger than I am used to. It felt good to be back in the pool on a cross training day.
Sauna: 18-minute sauna and stretch.
Strength Training (20:00): 20-minute abs workout.

Tuesday July 29: Effort levels (Tempo Pace) - 10 min warmup, 5x (5 min tempo, 90 sec recover), 10 min cooldown

5.3-mile run (52:31): Got out early before the unbearable heat, but it was still gross out. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this one with 5-minute tempo efforts and 90 second recoveries throughout. My body felt pretty good today.

Sauna: A quick 12-minute sauna and stretch before heading to work.

Wednesday July 30: Cross training or OFF + 20 min strength training

Strength training (20:00): 20-min chest and core workout
Climbing (25:00): A fun 25-minute workout where I turned climbing into a high intensity workout. My weekday climbing gym is in my neighborhood, and while it opens at 9 AM, members have 24/7 access. That means I get the gym largely to myself in the early morning hours and can use it any way I want to. After completing my strength training there, I did 20 minutes of climbing where I went in all-out intervals using any hold I wanted to for three minutes at a time with 90-second rests in between. It wasn’t about sending difficult routes but instead was about the workout which had me pumped. By the end, my arms could barely grip even the easiest of holds.
Sauna: 14-minute sauna with stretching.

Thursday July 31: 10 min warm-up; 3 miles ½ marathon pace; 10 min cooldown

3.9-mile run (39:38): A super fun run with a best friend who came to NYC this week. Nothing more to say than that because it doesn’t get any better than spending quality time with someone I don’t get to see often enough.

1.6-mile run (16:00): My run home after a break for coffee with my friend.

Sauna: 16-minute stretch and sauna.

Friday August 1: Off

Off: My body felt good going into this off day. Lately, I’ve learned to look forward to my Fridays off, and even while feeling full of energy, I appreciated the ability to save it all for the next day when I’d be running 13 miles. Just hoping for a good night’s sleep and lots of energy to make tomorrow’s run much better than last week’s 12 miles when I was fatigued.
Sauna: 24-minute stretch and sauna
Air Compression: 45 minutes

Saturday August 2: 12-13-mile run

*13.2 miles (2:23:02): Exactly three months to go before the marathon, and this was my favorite run of my training thus far. I hadn’t realized that the streets of NYC were closed this morning until I reached Park Avenue on my way to Central Park. That threw me for a loop, as I decided to pass up on the loops in the park for a run in the streets. Never once did I have a single thought in my mind about how far I was running today. I never once needed to play a mind game with myself or motivate myself with any mantras. I barely even knew I was there running. I just had a moment for two and a half hours of being completely present. Not even just present for the run, but present in every second of every minute of it. I was people watching and enjoying the company of everyone else out there. I took in the scenery of each neighborhood as I ran into Harlem, up the West Side past Columbia University, and into Washington Heights before turning around and running back to my apartment on the Upper East Side. The streets were filled with runners and bikers, and it felt great to show some love to the men and women in blue who put their lives on the line to protect our city. I also stopped to express my sympathy for the loss of one of their own this week in the tragic Park Avenue shooting. When I finished this run, I had so much more in me. I even thought about continuing it, but there will be time for longer ones soon. Plus, I remembered what I must save up for tomorrow, as I am waking up by 4 AM to run before I go up to The Gunks for a day of climbing. I know this day was made easier by the fact that I caught up on rest this week, and there’s no need to spoil that. It was also made much easier by the much cooler temperatures (between 64 and 70 degrees throughout the run). This might have been the first day that I ever felt I could run 26.2 right now – at least on a perfect day. I’ve got 13 more weeks to get that feeling no matter what kind of day it is on November 2. I love this city!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Legally Fit (@legallyfitblog)

Air Compression: 35 minutes
Contrast therapy: 20-minute sauna and stretch, three-minute ice bath, 20-minute sauna, four-minute ice bath.

Sunday August 3 (13 weeks until the marathon): 30–40-minute easy pace run

3.0-mile run (32:46): Woke up at 3:30 AM to get in a run before going climbing. I kept it on the easier side of the plan today, as I knew that climbing the rest of the day in The Gunks would fill my plate.

Climbing (5:30:00): A perfect day outside for some fun and exhausting climbing. Careful not to overdo it, I called it a day after our second route when I spent everything I had on a tough climb. By the end, I had lost my focus – something that never happened before while climbing. It was a sign that I had enough. It was also a lesson in how much better I am at knowing the space I am in at all times. In the past, I likely wouldn’t have recognized it and would have pushed through the struggle the rest of the day. That’s fine for another day but not during marathon training when I was going to have to be ready for tomorrow’s training. That’s not to say the decision to stop was easy or that I didn’t feel like I had quit. It’s just to say that I recognized that any feeling I had about giving up was unwarranted and that I needed to accept it’s what was best for me. And that was made easier by the fact that it was some fantastic climbing up to that point – and we saw a pretty big snake (not poisonous)!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Patty Patten Lankhorst (@patty_piton)

Monday August 4: 30 minutes cardio + strength training

Strength training (45:00): A workout that focused on legs and core with five minutes of jump rope to warmup.
Peloton (30:00): A 30-minute low-impact ride with Emma Lovewell after my strength training.
Sauna: 15 minutes of sauna and stretching after my workouts.
Air Compression: 40 minutes

Tuesday August 5: Hill repeats

*5.0-mile run (49:45): I took on the dreaded Harlem Hill in Central Park for this one and pushed myself each time I repeated the uphill portion. According to my Strava app, I set PR segments each time I ran the hill. Finishing this run at under 10 minutes per mile was a sign of real progress given the steep hills.

Contrast therapy: 14-minute sauna and stretch and a three-minute ice bath

Wednesday August 6: Cross training or OFF + 20 min strength training

Strength training (20:00): 20-min core workout with some finger pull-ups at my climbing gym.
Climbing (20:00): Just some fun tackling relatively easy bouldering problems, as I find myself much less aggressive these days to avoid injury as much as possible.
Sauna: 18-minute sauna with stretching

Thursday August 7: 10-minute warmup, 25-minute tempo, 10-minute cool-down

4.4-mile run (44:51): I spent much of my life growing up and going to college in the suburbs of Washington, DC, yet this was my first time ever running the Mall. I ran a loop between the Capitol and Lincoln memorial and took in the sights of our nation’s capital. Perhaps I paid a little less attention to the tempo part of this run, as I was busy capturing the beauty of it on my iPhone (see my Instagram running highlights).

Friday August 8: off

Off: Off day from working out but not from recovery . . .
Acupuncture: One hour of maintenance on my IT band and Achilles with Dr. Sang at Remedy Place (see my Instagram acupuncture highlights).
Sauna: 20-minute sauna with stretching
Air Compression: 40 minutes

Saturday August 9: 9-10-mile run

10.0 miles (1:46:48): Woke up feeling a little sore and tired, but still totally up for the run, which was thankfully shorter this week before it gets real next week (15M). Once again, I ran the streets of Manhattan which are closed on August Saturdays through next week. I kept it at a comfortable pace within where my body was today and enjoyed the scene.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Legally Fit (@legallyfitblog)

Air Compression: 40-minutes
Contrast therapy: 24-minute sauna, 3.5-minute ice bath, 18-minute sauna, four-minute ice bath.

**Total miles run per week of training (* indicates a personal record for miles run in a week):**

Week before training began: 15.2 miles
Week 1: 23 miles*
Week 2: 20.7 miles
Week 3: 23.2 miles*
Week 4: 20.6 miles
Week 5: 25.75 miles*
Week 6: 24.2 miles
Week 7: 27.8 miles*
Week 8: 22.4 miles