That was an exchange I had earlier this week that set off a whole bunch of emotions from, huh?? Did I fall apart? to being pissed off and everything in between. I'm a cerebral kinda guy so I think about these things on all my runs. Usually on the run I get very angry but then the endorphins shut down and I methodically go about my day. But when I woke up Saturday morning and was pissed -even before I had my coffee- I knew something sparked a fire. A fire deep in my belly is a good thing because it charges and motivates the warrior spirit inside of me. So I started asking myself a bunch of questions this week: Have I lost my competitive edge? Do I settle in races when it gets tough? Am I mentally and physically worn out?
I will admit I "settled" at AR 50. I know this because there was no one in front and no one behind that I could see, until Ellie came prancing up on me. If you remember in my AR 50 report I gritted my teeth and ran as hard as I could when Ellie appeared. If I would have done that at mile 40 would I have come closer to 6:10-:15? The answer is yes. Was I physically capable at mile 40? Retrospectively yes. Believe me-you, I know how mentally tough it is to pick up the pace when the get up and go is gone. But I've done it before. I think the reason we don't and decide to settle is because we are scared. We are scared to hurt beyond belief. And we are scared of the unknown. Let me tell you something that Peter Bakwin told me years ago when I emailed him after his double Hard Rock "Your body will do twice as much as your mind thinks it will - the mind is the limiting factor"
I just want to say thank you to the person I had this exchange with earlier this week. You made me realize I have become soft. And there is no better time to toughen the "EFF" up than RIGHT NOW! You will see something different from me at Miwok, at Pocatello, and at the Big Juan. I will not settle!
So let me ask you, what are you gonna do when it gets tough? Are you gonna settle or are you gonna grit your teeth and give everything you've got? And this goes for life in general as well.
Enough of that. 9 weeks till the Big Juan and I am fit. Now it's time to dial it in and become sharp. Here is what the week looked like:
Monday - 6 myles Bluff loop
Tuesday - 9 myles Waldo canyon
Wednesday - 11 myles HR backcountry
Thursday - 6 myles KC treadmill
Friday - AM 11 myles Coyote Ridge
Saturday - 25 myles Lair o Bear
Sunday - 16 myles HR ubran trails
Total - 90 myles, 12 hours 17 minutes, 9895 ft of climbing
Ran with Patrick Garcia on Saturday for the first loop and then on the second loop ran into Kieran McCarthy (reads the blog) who came over from Falcon trail head. The key workout was actually today where I did 3 x 3 mile (actually 2.3s), which was progressively faster for each. On Tuesday I botched the workout. I was supposed to do 8 x 8 seconds up a steep hill. I thought it said 8 minutes so after 4 x 5:30s up the steep part in Waldo canyon, I had enough. Travel should be settling down for the next couple of weeks so I'm hopeful I can string together a bunch of hometown runs. Take care
10 comments:
Found those five minutes today, and I think there's probably 5-10 more on a redline day. Thanks again for the words, making sure I think through the body's needs before heading out.
Looking forward to your Miwok, California is Colorado's for the taking!
I was listening to some great music on my run today.
"When they kick at your front door.
How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head?
Or, on the trigger of your gun?"
Great post....definitely got me thinking.
Did those other guys ever settle up with you (speaking of settling)?
GZ - nope. They all forgot. And to be quite honest so did I. Clark, Mock, and JT all still owe me $5. Mock will try to give me some coupon as trade, JT will cash out in beer, and Clark will give me some free Ultragen...
Don't settle for that.
It was cool bumping into you. I popped out onto the Bear Creek trail via the Meadow View trail and was probably a hundred feet behind you, so I thought I'd say hello. Took the wind out of me to catch you, though, and made the last 12 harder than necessary.
I wouldn't be too hard on yourself re: American River. 6:25 is a helluva time. If it's not your goal race, there's no sense in beating yourself up over not pushing yourself to the point of collapse. The body and mind are only capable of doing that so many times, imho.
FastEd: Relative to my capabilities and what I've done in recent years (not much compared to you), I asked myself those very same questions last week after my horrendous showing at the Eisenhower Marathon. Then I decided to just move on, but it's not easy and my confidence has taken a hit for sure. I do think this time of years we're asking a lot of our bodies when we've been training through the winter and quality during the winter is hard to come by. I usually don't start feeling really good until about early to mid May.
Wyatt
Wow.... You have more determination, will power and inner strength than most people...I have do doubt that you will do what you say... I get goose bumps thinking of what your results will be...CAN'T WAIT...
Time for the UTEP look??
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