slow down!!!! and smell the flowers

I spend a lot of time moving through and over nature. Although I try to take in the views, I mostly just give it a furtive glance, more intent on the act of moving than really appreciating what is around me.
While I have no intention of slowing down on my runs, this incredible video is a sampling of what I miss. I need to figure out a way of taking it in, perhaps our little rooftop garden will give me a little taste?

My Father's Garden from Mirko Faienza on Vimeo.

I had a funny analogy come through my head, about how an athlete's fitness is like a garden to a gardener.

Before I start, I want to lay a ground rule, pesticides and chemicals, yes, much like drugs and doping, work. The results are quite clear on this. When fed the right mix of chemicals and drugs, plants grow big and strong, the fruit or vegetable can grow to unnatural proportions and they can taste quite good, but I am more interested in an organic garden. One with natural plants and vegetables, that don't have a glossy sheen to them.

Okay, so let the forced analogy begin:

1)Nature v. Nurture--just like athletes, some seedlings just come from better stock. This is a reality of sport. No matter how hard I try, I will never set a 100 meter world record and I can't imagine a scenario, even with heavy chemical induced "fertilizers", can I imagine how that would have happened. So just how some plants will simply produce more beautiful flowers, or juicier tomatoes, no matter how many variables you control for, some athletes will simply turn out differently than others, even on exactly the same training plan, using the same equipment and living in the same condition. Some will be bigger, more resilient and juicier.

That said, you can and should control the variables. If you ensure good, fertile "soil", such as a solid nurturing training environment, a steady, natural, healthy food source, lots of water and sunlight, then your plants and fitness will grow in a good and healthy way. While we all want the perfect tomato, or most vibrant plants, the truth is there can only be one most beautiful plant. Most flowers look quite pretty and most vegetables taste quite similar, so just because a plant won't be the absolute best plant in the world, it doesn't mean that you can't make something quite beautiful or delicious out of it.

2)Seedlings--once you plant the seeds, or introduce the athlete to sport/play, you need to leave them be for a little while. There is nothing a gardener, or parent/coach can do for them at this stage. The main role is simply to clear the path, drop them in the right environment and watch them grow. Some seeds may never germinate, this is fine and even when they do start to bud, it isn't until the plant grows into something more substantial, that the gardener can really influence it. The same goes for kids in sport, or when an athlete first begins. Drop them in sport at a young age and just let them play at first, they will grow into good strong athletes on their own. It is isn't until the later stages that they really need a coach to oversee them. As I said above, do control the variables that you can. Make sure to drop them into a fertile bed, with all the right conditions and they will turn out just fine. The gardener should keep an eye on the program, trying to catch flaws, weeds and negative outside influences early, they should water the plants, but not over-water them and they should also keep a growing log, to monitor the progress. Once they start to really grow and bloom, then the gardener can and should step in. This can mean propping them up, pruning them a bit, continuing to weed the garden and choosing the exact right time to cultivate them and unleash them on the world.

3)Competition-interesting, much like athletes, good stock plants seem to breed from competition. Plants grow bigger and stronger trying to fight their way to sunlight and for resources. This is even more true where there is an abundance of vegetation, it is the competition with the trees, or plants around them that force the plants to grow. It is the same with athletes, their skills respond directly to the stimulus around them. If they aren't pushed to grow, then they will likely stagnate, only ever having to grow to a certain height. The same goes for your fitness, to grow, you have to push the comfort zone a bit, challenging it.

4)Organic matter--Interestingly, athletes, like plants, grow on the decomposing matter of other plants/athletes. All training knowledge and experience comes from what we have learned with previous plants/athletes, as well as our own experience/fallen leaves and branches. Similarly, athletes grow off of the lessons that they learned competing against other athletes. The more organic material an athlete has, in the form of experience and knowledge, gained from their own falling plants and that collected from others, the bigger and stronger the garden will grow.

5)Variety--while plants need a regular cycle of care, they also thrive off of variety. If you have a monoculture, you are unlikely to really maximize the full flavour of the vegetable, or the brightness of the flower. The same goes for training, if you did the same workout day in and day out, you might get fitter, but you wouldn't be maximizing your potential. You would also risk sucking all the nutrients out of the soil, making the environment bland and the ultimate outcome bland as well.

6)Seasonal-There are no plants/people who can flourish all year. Just like a garden, you want to maximize your time in bloom, but if you push it too far, you dry up all the resources, making it hard to grow the next year. Instead, there is a fallow period, where you replenish the soil, a germinating season and a blooming season. It takes years of this cyclical pattern, mixing combinations, changing soil types and a bit of luck to maximize your garden's potential.

7)Weeds/Environmental--weeds are like bad habits, they are persistent and they leach important nutrients. A good coach/gardener will try to clear weeds away, since the athlete/plant is generally helpless on their own to correct these weeds. Also, no matter how perfect the environment, or how perfect the stock, environmental factors, such as frost, or pine beetle, just like sickness, or accidents, can wipe away years of hard work. You can try to protect from the damage, but life and setbacks just happen sometimes. You have to be accepting of that when it happens and patiently start over. You already have experience with growing fitness/garden, so you don't start at square one, but you can't skip a step either.

8)Pollination--while I will avoid getting into a eugenics discussion (see point 1 about nature), don't forget that outside sources, like bees, are important to help pollinate the garden. They spread knowledge and can help with the overall health and vitality of the area, some level of symbiosis exists. Just be careful, some external sources, which initially seem friendly and important can quickly become a pest that overtakes the garden and chomp the leaves, sucking life out of the garden.

Interestingly, while I keep making reference to coaches and gardeners, some will correctly observe that nature does great job on it's own. Plants grow tall and strong, they develop in abundance and it is all quite beautiful. I agree, while left on it's own, human physical potential will grow and flourish, developing the traits and attributes necessary for that environment. Humans did it for millennia, what I am talking about is an unnatural setting. Competition and sport is not a natural environment and we have more "weeds" or distractions than ever. Sport is an environment encased by parameters and rules, we are not always doing natural motions or activities, so you need to control for certain variables to be able to flourish in this unnatural setting.

Okay, so I am sure I butchered some analogies, just like I am sure I would butcher a garden, but you all get the point.