Win With Flynn

I know what you are thinking, and no, this is not a post about a dog movie. 

This is about Des Linden, the Boston Marathon Champion. And it’s about you. 

Des is a strong runner. World class. She is a planner and an achiever. Des has a system, and she sticks to it.  

She is known as an analytical thinker and has been writing out detailed race plans going back to her college days at Arizona State University. 

She has been described as “tough between the ears,” a runner that can stay on her plan regardless of the conditions. Those are great attributes, the kind that bring out your best. Staying engaged in the process, being patient, and making that gradual upward progression towards your goals.  

The night before Boston in 2018 she met with her coach and discussed the race plan. They planned when to get up, warm up, eat, refuel, and hydrate. But something happened. That morning, the runners were welcomed with horrendous conditions. The worst conditions in the history of the Boston Marathon. Thirty mile per hour winds. Freezing. Cold. Rain. 

Des knows outcomes can vary, she knows to focus on the process, focus on her system, follow the plan. That is how you win. That is how you have consistent success. But in these conditions, she made a judgment call. No warmup. She changed her plan, and then she watched the other racers head out to warm up. They come back freezing, wet, and drained of energy. 

She had trained in this type of foul weather and needed to make an assessment on the spot. So, she asked herself how she could improve her situation. 

Limiting her time in that weather was an improvement, an edge. 

She would warm up on the racecourse, a cold start on a cold day. She wasn’t feeling her best, not sure anyone was, but if you start the race, you are there to win it. And that’s exactly what she did. Her competition fell away, and Des pushed herself to victory at Boston. 

This was in 2018 and I’ve heard several interviews with Des over the past few years. At the time I wanted to focus on her process. Her toughness. Her perseverance.  

All I wanted to hear about was that race plan. That was me. That was how I tried to run my life. Systems over goals. Process over outcomes. It can become compulsive. It can also be comforting. That race plan will keep you warm at night. You plan your work and work your plan.  

Your life has a plan, a trip to Disneyland for sure has a plan, your career, your diet, a trip to Costco, the list goes on. 

Plan it. Plan it all. 

Plans change though. Des knew that. And I keep coming back to her decision. No warmup. I don’t even take out the garbage without touching my toes first. She won Boston. 

Process and systems are what got her there. It’s what got her ready and it’s what has made a career for her, but that day it was her flexibility. 

The map is not the territory, and the plan is not the race. 

Assess the situation, see the other runners suffering through their regimented race plans, look for an edge, and make the call.  

No warmup. Change of plans. 

And that is the art of racing in the rain.