Warrior Wisdom

Warrior Wisdom - from Dr. Yurij

Warrior Wisdom

Dr. Yurij provides weekly coaching messages to help you live out your God given purpose.

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    Run With a Purpose!

    May 2, 2016
    Filed Under:
    Warrior Wisdom
    RUN WITH PURPOSE
    The feedback falls into two categories.
    The runners are elated with a morning run. 
    Everyone else not so much! 

    When the run begins there are all kinds of voices in our heads.
    The non runners: it's too cold, too hot, too far, too painful, why did I sign up for this??
    The runners: I got this, I'm the man! I'm the woman! I wonder how I'm doing here, can I hang with the fast group?
    The non runners: wow this is crazy, is that pain that I'm feeling or am I about to pass out? I haven't run for 20 years but look at me now!
    The runners: What if I can't keep this pace? Did so and so just pass me? I should've worn my Hokas/Newtons/Altra's.
    In other words both groups, runners and non runners alike, have all kinds of distracting thoughts going on.

    The run is supposed to be a continuation of the worship time. You need to train to maintain your focus on Jesus as you run. This is not easy.

    Here is a running/focus drill that I have been using ever since I started the 40 day challenge. Try it out for yourself. If you are an advanced runner you can modify this protocol to fit your running goals.

    Start the run with a one minute run/one minute walk protocol for the first 10 minutes.
    Use the walk to refocus on cadence (90 plus per minute) and Jesus.
    When running, if your mind wanders from your 90 plus cadence or away from Jesus, stop running immediately and reset your focus.
    As soon as your focus is reset start to run again for one minute. After 10 minutes increase your running time to 2 minutes and decrease the walking time to 30 seconds.
    Continue with this rhythm for 20 minutes.
    End your run with a 10 minute cool down. Cool down at a slower pace run with the same cadence. Run slow enough to breath in and out through your nose. Nose breathing will guarantee that you finish your run in zone 1.

    Do this drill to train on your focus during your running. It will spill over into every other area of your life as well.

    Blessings,

    Coach Yurij

    Comment

    On Tuesday, May 24, 2016, Denise Tomlin said:

    Did my 2nd Focus Run this morning. WOW!! It was awesome. Embraced it from the start this time. I can be trained and train new ways. Yeah! I finished with a 15.42 nose breathing run to home and didn't open my mouth to breath at all. That's a miracle. Yeah God and His healing. He is bringing me NOT back to my level of health and fitness from before, but to a whole NEW level of Health and well-being. And I believe that. So incredible! Thanks for the training coach. You are much appreciated. Blessings, Denise

     

    On Tuesday, May 17, 2016, Yurij Chewpa said:

    Hi Cynthia, good question. Cadence refers to the turnover of the feet. A cadence of 90 indicates 90 left or right foot strikes in 60 seconds. Yurij

     

    On Tuesday, May 17, 2016, Cynthia Pohran said:

    Would you please explain what you mean by the "90" cadence? :-)

     

    On Tuesday, May 17, 2016, Denise Tomlin said:

    Hey Yurij, Did the run and definitely mixed feelings about it. Felt very distracted at first by having to look at and pay attention to the time and felt as if it took me off focus. By 6 minutes in I wasn't liking it at all and felt myself say "my way is better- more focused on Him". Everything changed after that. Scripture came to me about "My ways are higher than your ways" and i prayed for help to embrace this focus run. I really want His way and His plan for my life and submitted to the process. About 16 minutes in was actually enjoying it and felt more focused. The last 10 minutes was a struggle and another lesson. As i can only breathe out of about 1 1/2 nostrils even zone 1 is tough to get the oxygen. Lack focus! So I flipped it to yes 1 1/2 nostrils open and thats more than last year and now is an opportunity to train them. It wasn't perfect, but a GREAT lesson in submitted and revelation. God also showed me--- as i really avoid focus on numbers and let Mark who is very quick at them take over all the time so my mind has been shut down with numbers for decades now and that is why it is so challenging to focus on the time and cadence etc.--- Yet He created me with a great brain and I can learn how to use it again. It affects practice as well as i avoid keeping track of missed visits and leave it to my team. I will be taking steps to train on that too! Thanks for the lesson in submitting and abiding and the revelations! I will do it again thurs. Blessings, D

     

    On Wednesday, May 11, 2016, Greg Zoldy said:

    Got up 45 minutes earlier. Read a few chapters in the book ALL IN and then went for a run keeping this in mind. Most times when I run it's just to get'r done without any strategy or selfishly get some inspiration in the quietness and sometimes pain of it all. Focusing on my actual running pace and cadence, which is a little hard to figure out without one of those fancy GPS/fitbit watches, really made my run more enjoyable. Consistent well-paced steps actually slowed me down in cadence but gave me more power with each step. Interesting. I hope this little change will make me a more efficient and joyful runner. Once I figured out the cadence thing, focusing on seeing Jesus and how he wants to help and use me through my life was pretty cool. Lots of simple but heavy revis this morning.

    My turn around point was actually at Tom Thomson's gravesite behind a small country church nearby. People visit there and leave mementos like paint brushes stuck in the ground and tubes of paint around his tombstone. I stopped to read his epitaph which reads 'LANDSCAPE ARTIST. DROWNED IN CANOE LAKE." Short but when you think about it, his legacy was his passion and he likely died doing it...not on the couch. I hope I go in a similar fashion...not drowning though :), just living a life of adventure that really gives God the glory. Consistent purposeful steps. Thanks Coach! Amazing what a little prodding does.

     

    On Tuesday, May 10, 2016, Mark Foullong said:

    Thanks Coach! It's all about focus isn't it?? Like you always tell us, "Our run parallels our life" and the more I focus on me and on my flesh the less I can focus on Him. Thanks as always for refocussing me!!

     

    On Sunday, May 8, 2016, Clarise Chan said:

    I did this running drill yesterday morning and man oh man, was it tough! For the first part of the drill (1 minute run, 1 minute walk), I was able to keep my focus on Jesus and my cadence. It wasn't until I hit the 5 minute mark that I struggled. I stopped at least 5 times and had to pattern interrupt in order to redirect my focus to Jesus. So many thoughts were running through my head when this happened: things that need to be done, things that I've planned, miscellaneous thoughts. At that point, I told myself I will refocus on counting my steps and then work slowly to refocusing on Jesus. That definitely helped! As I progressed into the 2 minute run, 30 second rest, by that time I was able to maintain a greater focus on Jesus because of the retraining in the first part of the drill. It was at this point that Jesus began to direct the thoughts and people He wanted me to pray for, rather than the reverse, during the drill. Biggest thing I learned is Jesus needs to be my PRIMARY focus in EVERYTHING. I have a tendency to make His people my primary focus in justification that He is my primary focus in them but what He revealed to me was if I shift the hierarchy (Jesus-->People to People-->Jesus), I can lose sight of Jesus in the midst of wanting to serve Him (if that makes sense) and become wholehearted for Him in the wrong direction. Dr. Yurij, thanks for this powerful exercise! I really encourage everyone else who is reading this to do it too!!

     

    On Wednesday, May 4, 2016, Yurij said:

    Hey Warriors,
    Be sure to try this running method and let me know how it goes for you. The key is to stop and walk if you lose focus. Don't try to refocus while running. Stopping and walking forces a pattern interrupt. It's all about clearing out the chatter and focusing on just two things: cadence and Jesus.
    You will also notice that the last 10 minutes when you are running with your mouth closed and breathing through your nose only will really limit your intensity. This is purposeful to teach you what Zone 1 intensity feels like. Many of you may have to walk to keep the intensity low enough so that you can breath through your nose.
    Share your experience and keep the conversation going.
    Coach Yurij

     

    On Wednesday, May 4, 2016, Leo Quan said:

    Right on Yurij! I jve both runner and non-runner monlogues going on in my head. Does that mean I should do the drill twice as much? ;)

    But seriously, I totally get the value of focus. The past 10 days, I've been without my wife and it's been a real struggle to focus. Some great gifts from God have come from this.

    All the gifts revolve around dependence on all things godly. Prayer has been my #1 go to. Sometimes it's screaming out to him inside my head, "I need you lord!"

    Filtering out temptation has been my #2. Clearing out the snacks from the cupboards and eating clean has made a HUGE difference.

    I'll add the focus drill to my routine as another layer.

    Thanks Yurij! Leo

     

    On Tuesday, May 3, 2016, Brad Rusaw said:

    Awesome Yurij! This made me laugh at the start because of the truth contained in your message. Thank-you for encouraging us to keep our focus simple. Maybe I'll go barefoot???

     

     

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