There have been times in my life when an adrenaline rush has
gotten me through a tough situation. I
do not think I am unusual in that aspect.
Adrenaline however is a short-term lift for a short time but is very unhelpful
for a long-term challenge like an ultra-marathon. When I started this blog, one of my first
posts warned at the end of March and early April, that this pandemic was not a
short race or even a marathon but was going to be a grueling
ultra-marathon. Frankly, I am not too
happy to be very prescient about what was going to occur with this pandemic and
even more concerned now that the adrenaline has worn off we might be in for a
bumpier ride than it needs to be. Why is
that? Because once the short-term benefits of adrenaline are gone, there is
almost the opposite effect, and you feel less energetic and even negative.
I know this because it happened to me on my first
ultra-marathon and almost kept me from completing the race. I was on my first ultra-marathon and it was a
50-mile trail run. I was feeling great until I realized that I had made a wrong
turn and had to turn back. I was adding
over 5 miles to my race and the moment it happened the adrenaline kicked in and
all the pain I felt disappeared. I retraced my path back to my mistake. However, when I got back on the right course the
adrenaline wore off and I had only completed less than half the race. I could not shake the black cloud that
hovered over me. I had went from someone
who was sure he was going to conquer the 50-mile challenge, to a depressed
doubter of myself. It affected me greatly, but I was able to overcome it.
As we enter the fifth month of this pandemic it is apparent
to me that the energy, focus, and unity that was felt early on has
dissipated. To a certain point this is
to be expected because the only tools we have in our toolbox are masks, good
hygiene, and social distancing. That last one, “social distancing” is the one
that is near impossible to keep up. We
are social creatures and the reason that we have advanced as a species is
through social interaction. While we all pretty much followed the protocols in
the beginning and were united in our cause, now the unity is gone and the
divide larger. While in the first phase,
we probably thought that we would defeat this virus quickly and our adrenaline
kicked in. Now I can sense the fatigue
is settling in, and maybe even a little despair.
The reason I say the adrenaline rush is gone is that like in
my first ultra-marathon, the first thing that hit me was an overwhelming cloud
of negativity. Yes, some of the aches
and pains of running over twenty miles reappeared, but it was my negativity
that was holding me back.
(Scene from 1st ultra)
As I have stated I am in the field of public education, and
through my work I have conversations with people from all across the great
state of New Jersey and I can sense the fatigue and frustration creeping
in. Part of it is because it has been a
long time in this new normal, part of it is that the future is unknown, and
part of it is we are more isolated than ever.
The key is how do we shift our focus and get into a more positive
mindset as a nation? I know it is
possible it is because in my moment of despair on the race I was able to turn
my mind set around, albeit not easily.
Ironically, the key I found was in working with others who
may have been in worse shape than I was.
Basically, I did it with a little help from my friends, or in this case a
couple of friendly strangers. I started
the race alone but ended it with two women I met on the trail, and we banded
together to get each other to the finish line.
I have no idea what those women’s political views were, but that did not
matter. We all had the
same goal to finish, and we did – together.
We gave each other encouragement even in the middle of a thunderstorm in
the dead of night.
Like in my quest to finish that race the real challenge
starts when the adrenaline wears off and we need to as a nation, come
together. We all want the same
thing. We want the virus to go away or at
least be manageable and we want our economy to go back to normal. We can’t have one without the other. The
political divide I talked about in my recent post is what is holding us back.
While I do not expect any political leaders to take my
advice, I do hope as individuals we start to adapt to the long run. Here are some thoughts on that.
Stay positive –
Like my co-finishers, we supported each other and were always pushing and
helping each other. As a nation, we should be focusing on helping each other
not yelling at each other and we should be doing the same thing as individuals. One way to do that is to limit your news
intake. I don’t care what you watch if
it is CNN, Fox News, or MSNBC, tune in but don’t become obsessed with it. They all focus on the divide and the more we
watch it the angrier we get at others.
Call friends and acquaintances that are positive. Author’s note: The week I wrote this I was away and had no TV, and
couldn’t believe how less worked up I was about the world.
Be realistic about
the situation – We were in pain and the weather was awful, but we did not
dwell on that. We remained focus on
moving forward. As a nation, we all know the grim realities of the virus and
our economy and while we shouldn’t ignore it, we should focus on moving
forward. I know there are a few people
who do not believe that this disease is really serious, I would point out
making believe something is not real is dangerous.
Stay focused on your
goal – In my race we had one directive get to the finish line. We should have the same focus on controlling
COVID-19. Nothing else will fall into
place until we do that.
Short term solutions
don’t help solve long term challenges – Like in my race when I used
adrenaline to get me back on course, it did solve one problem but created new
and more harmful effects. As a nation,
we need to focus on the fact that we will be doing this for a long time. If we just focus on moving forward than we
can see progress every day.
All that being said, I am not optimistic that we will come
together anytime soon. There is a
national election coming and by nature they tend to divide us, not unite us. At least not until after Election Day because
by nature the two sides dig in. I suspect that however the election ends up,
that both sides have a core that will not accept the results.
I am however, optimistic that we will as individuals start
to help each other. While I sensed the
fatigue that was settling in, I also sensed determination to get through this,
and a comradery during Zoom meetings that focuses on the positive. It reminds
me of the two women I met on the trail none of us were in good shape but that
seemed to bind us not divide us. The adrenaline may have worn of but not the
determination.
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