Starting Lines

The Only Way Forward Is Over Them

I just launched my podcast. Don’t worry. This isn’t about that. Not entirely. I mean… it’s mostly about that. But it’s about more than that. You see, it took me years to finally make Coach Bennett’s Podcast. Not days or weeks or months. Years. And when I say years I don’t mean two or three or even five or seven years. I’ve wanted to make this podcast for decades. I still have the book about how to start a podcast that my wife gave me back in 2003. So, I guess you could say that I’ve been standing on this starting line for 20 years. That’s a long time to stare at a line and not cross it. Especially when you consider that I don’t really have a problem talking… like at all. And I don’t have a problem speaking to people or having conversations with strangers or giving speeches to crowds or having Q&A’s with big or small audiences. If you asked me 20 years ago if taking that first stride across that line would have been so hard I would have laughed at you. Hard? No way!

But the reality is that the first stride was really hard to take. And the longer I stood there on that line the heavier my legs got. The tighter my chest felt. The more awkward my stance seemed. The less impressive what I had to say sounded to me. The weaker I felt. The more I doubted whether I could even get across that starting line. The more terrifying what lay on the other side of the line looked. 20 years will do that. And the safer this side of the line became. The problem with this side of the line is that if you aren’t willing to cross the starting line then the only direction you can move is backwards. In order to move forward you need to cross a starting line.

I’m going to skip ahead. I crossed it. But I didn’t cross it alone. I needed someone to help me. tammie (Coach Bennett the Greater) bennett has been dropping new episodes of the Show Up Society Podcast every week since 2019. So, I went to her and asked for help. She never hesitated. So, tammie and I started our own podcast this past May called Two Coach Bennett’s Talking. I felt a little more confident sharing a mic with someone to start. I felt relaxed recording with someone that had already recorded before. I felt safer being with someone that understood how the first strides… or steps… or baby steps could seem so damn scary to someone just learning to stand on their own. And being able to cross that starting line… being able to create… being able to open up and speak on Two Coach Bennett’s Talking… gave me the confidence to record and edit and launch Coach Bennett’s Podcast on my own 2 weeks ago.

And you came and listened. You downloaded the episodes. You subscribed. You wrote reviews and gave ratings. You shared the show. You made Coach Bennett’s Podcast the #1 Running Podcast in the World! Thank you. Thank you for letting me be a part of your day. Thank you for listening to what I have to say. Thank you for showing up on the starting line with me. Because that’s how I feel when I hit record now. I feel like tammie (she likes when her name is spelled with all lower case letters) is there with me. I feel like every one of you is with me too. That’s why I want to cross the starting line of another episode. Because I want to go somewhere with all of you.

I still have my doubts on the line. I still wonder whether the next episode will be any good. I still worry I’m wasting your time. I still don’t know if what I am about to record and say (or write) will help you. And that’s really what I want to do… help. But I know I can still cross the line with all that bullshit. In fact, all that stuff is part of why I keep getting back on the starting line. I need to face challenges. I need to deal with fears. I need to run into barriers. Because slamming into those barriers is proof that I’m moving and moving forward. Proof I did in fact cross that starting line again.

So, to so many of you that write to me and tell me thank you for being with you as you take on great challenges and cross over so many starting lines out there… thank you for being with me as I crossed one of my own. Athletes may need coaches… but coaches need the athletes more.

That’s all. Just wanted you to know about where the podcast came from and who made it possible. Figured you should know since you’re one of the poeple that made it possible. Anyway, as always… I’ll see you on your next starting line… or maybe… I’ll see you on one of mine.

Here’s a little something I wrote a few years ago that I think is a fitting way to end this Coach Bennett’s Newsletter.

Cheers!

DEAR DOUBT

Dear Doubt,

I’m going to kick your ass today. I want you to know that.

And I want you to know that ahead of time. Because I want you to be ready.

So please plan on bringing everything you got. Bring the hurt. Bring the shortness of breath. Bring the dead legs. Bring the hills and the cracked sidewalks and go ahead and litter the trail with roots and rocks. Bring it all. Bring everything you got!

I may not have been ready for you before. But I’m ready now. Because now I know you. I know your games and tricks. You’ll tell me I’m too lazy to run. You’ll tell me I’m too weak to be strong. You’ll tell me I’m too slow to be fast. You'll tell me I'm not good enough to get better. You’ll tell me it’s too difficult because it’s raining and cold. Or is it too hot and humid? You’ll tell me it’s all too much or maybe that I’m not enough. You’ll tell me I’ll never be a real runner. You’ll tell me I’ll never be as good as I was or as good as I want to be.

You’ll tell me that running sucks. You’ll tell me I suck. You’ll tell me it’s only going to hurt… it’s always going to be a struggle… it’s always going to be hard. You’ll tell me that running is punishment. You’ll tell me that the only thing I shouldn’t believe in myself. Go ahead. Keep talking. It doesn’t matter.

But just let me tell you a few things. Listen up Doubt. You need to know that I’ll always be strong enough to try and I’ll always be good enough to get better. You need to know that I run… therefore I am a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or far or for how long. When I run I know who I am. I know who I can be. And you don’t know either of those people.

But I do. I know them. I run with them. And I believe in both of them.

Oh yeah, one more thing… I’m not running to punish myself.

No way. I’m running to punish you.

Cheers,

A Runner