Day 152 – Marathon: Dream to done so…

Hi, I’m Jiggs (aka Mike Schott). More on how that nickname came to light coming another day.

27.. What an interesting year to consider physically peaking. That was far from the case in my book. About 6 months after I turned the page on my 27th year, I started at Kaufman Development and was introduced to the wild world that is Chet Scott and Built to Lead.

For those long-term blog readers, you may know the KDev has been blessed with being built since it was just an idea in BKs mind. I jumped in at about team practice 175. A couple practices in, Chet had us on the floor doing core work and I was embarrassed with how weak it was. To say my physical health was at its peak at 28 is laughable, I in fact I was a HAM (hot ass mess..)

But through the BTL journey that starts with figuring out how to lead ourselves, I started to put the pieces of my physical, mental, emotional, relational and spiritual health back together. First through consistent 3P work (HIIT training with a foundation of a ton of pushups, pull-ups and planks) that eventually evolved into attacking a half ironman. That was a beast of a training journey and my Schott hips could barely finish the last mile of the run but that became the point where my holistic health would forever be a top priority. In fact, it’s my top Unifying Strategy.

So, what’s next? What big physical dream can I go pursue as a new Dad, devoted husband, in a new city? Last fall, one of my good friends invited me on some insane hike where he planned on hammering 70 miles in 48 miles through a portion of the Appalachian trail. What a crazy idea right? Yep.

But maybe he’s onto something… However, I am thinking of reverse engineering Chets question on day 152 and starting with the who I want to invite along the journey. My wife Lauren, 7-month-old son Beck and I just went out to Moab, Utah to celebrate where we got married just 24 months ago and we took him on his first hike on the crazy cliffs of Canyonlands (pic below). So, what if I can combine those pure OPUS days of hiking with my family while training for something crazy? Now we are talking.

So, here’s my thought – a hiking marathon, 26.2 miles, in the mountains. No, I’m not going to run it, but I can hike it. And hopefully do a huge chunk of the training and maybe the marathon itself with Lauren, Beck and a few others along the way.

We will chunk out the how with tomorrows post but I leave you with Chets question, reversed. Who do you want to spend some time physically testing yourself with and what can you accomplish together? Let’s get to work.