Morning Reflection

So I'm sitting here, eating my omelet and cherries and reflecting on the small successes I have had the last few weeks. Anyone who runs knows that there is a lot of work to be done which may or may not produce a result. Which is why, every victory, no matter how small must be celebrated. I have been fortunate in the recent weeks to have more than little victories to celebrate. My race performances have blown my expectations out of the water, so I am currently basking in a little ray of positive light. However, I am no novice to frustration. Therefore, I anticipate that eventually this high will end, and when it does I need to be ready to continue the daily grind that can be the training of an aspiring runner. For the moment though, I would like to try to fathom how my running path changed so drastically in just a few short months.

Back in March I was in a down right panic about my running future, and really my life in general. I didn't have a job, I was "training" for a marathon, and balancing student teaching at a preschool. Jake and I were eating what we considered to be a healthy diet but based only off of our own perceptions of food. I was stressed about what was going to happen once May rolled around and I was tested physically in the Marathon, not to mention hitting the real world where people get jobs and are not given scholarship stipends to live off of. I remember thinking if I could just flash forward 6 months and see where my life was heading, I would have felt all the pressure lift and be free to breath again. Of course, that was an impossible wish and something that is not worth time and energy dwelling on. As bad as it is to dwell on the past, it is even worse to dwell on the future. I realize now that all anyone can ever do is their best to prepare in every way they can; there is so much out of our control in life and worrying about all those things will take away from the life you currently live. Anyways, a job opportunity came up, my "dream" job actually, working for a running shoe store. Now don't get me wrong and think I dream of having a lifetime career as a sales associate making ten dollars an hour. Not at all. But this job was part time and offered flexible hours that could easily accommodate my training schedule. Plus, I get a discount on running shoes. A great bonus because I go through them like nobody's business. Come the end of April I had the job checked off my to do list. I would like to mention that Jake was very gracious in allowing me to take this position, knowing that we could make more money if I became a teacher, but also understanding that I would have to sacrifice running if I did.  And I was by no means ready to stop running.

April was an exciting month, because not only did I acquire a job, but I found my current coach and running program. Jake and I had our friend Dan over for dinner and conversation turned to all of our athletic careers. Dan introduced Jake to his current cycling coach, Jonathan, and he was greatly influential in my future as well. While listening to me rant about how there were no running clubs accepting membership's because it was the middle of the year, Dan suggested I look into the Boulder Track Club. I was hesitant because at that point in time, my running dreams were focused on trail running, basically the opposite of track. But Dan insisted that the coach, who is Australian, was terrific, and if I wanted to be a good marathoner, he was where I should go. So I looked up the Boulder Track Club and was very excited about what I found. I contacted Lee and we set up a time to meet.

The outcome of that little meeting at a coffee shop on a Sunday afternoon could never have been anticipated by me at the time. Since I officially joined the BTC in June, I have run 16:59 for the 5k on the road, and then 33:47 for the 10k, also on the road. Both those races took place at altitude with about 5-6 weeks of workouts under my belt. To say I have surpasses my expectations would be an understatement. I have blown them right out of the water. My mouth literally waters thinking about getting back on the track next spring. And anyone who knows me will tell you that is a miracle within itself. And although I know that this hysteria will pass, for now I am going to keep riding the wave. Let me tell you, it has never been easier to get out on a run, or do abs, or stretch, or eat right because I have already seen such a gigantic improvement in my performance.

At the same time it is important to remember to listen to your body first and for most. ALWAYS. I will explain this more in a minute. But lets back track a little bit. What changed between running the Colorado Marathon in May and where I am today, just over two months down the road? Well, to say everything would be a little bit of an overstatement, but really not terribly inaccurate. First, Jake and I decided to go on the Paleo Diet and change our eating lifestyle. Doing research about the Paleo Diet lead me to believe it would benefit my training the most. I have gained knowledge about how best to fuel for a workout and how to best recover, all solely based off of food. The change has not been easy by any means, but like I said, when you can see and feel the results that immediately, it makes all the effort worth while. I have already started to lose weight, which some may see as unnecessary, but based off of how I feel, I think it is definitely a positive. And this is where I pull in the listening to your body. We all know that losing weight typically results in running faster, to a certain point. Having an eating disorder is catastrophic, not only to your running but to your life. Let me assure you all that I do not have an eating disorder, and anyone who has seen me scarf down an entire bowl of popcorn will agree. The Paleo Diet is great because it preaches to eat when you are hungry, and stop when you are full. I have been living by this moto for years, perhaps stretching the fullness limit at times, but none the less, never restricting my intake of food. With Paleo, you can eat as much as you want as long as it is the right food. So that is what I do, I eat when I am hungry (in fact if I can't I get REALLY cranky) and stop when I feel full. Currently I am attempting to lessen the meaningless munchies that seem to appear every evening between 8 and 9pm and are typically a sign of boredom rather than actual need for food. I have also been trying to drink more water, hydration being an overlooked essential to consistent training day in and day out.

Second, I changed my running stride. Like literally. I have always been a heel striker and decided why not give it a go and try to mid-foot strike. Apparently it is much more efficient. And yes, you can just decide to change you stride. I know this because I did it. It was really weird at first, but now I am totally used to it. When I get tired, it gives me something to focus on rather than the pain in my legs. I just work on not letting my heel come down first and landing instead on my mid-foot or toe area. It has been the most beneficial in workouts, where I feel like I am being pulled forward by an invisible rope, rather than slugging through deep mud. I can only speculate, but I think it has increased the rate of my turnover, which in turn makes me run faster.

Third, I am running for a new coach with a new running program. I have never felt as good as I feel now in all of my years of high school and college running and I am only a few months into this new training plan. Lee's training is a refreshing change of pace from what I am used to. I am still running about 70ish miles a week right now, with two long runs (one at 80-90min, one at 1hr45min) and doing two workouts. The rest of my runs are recovery. I think the biggest change has been in the workouts. They are not nearly as intense or fast or long as the workouts I was doing in college. Which makes me believe that for the past five years I was leaving all of my good race efforts in workouts. What a bummer. Whatever the reason, this training is clearly successful for me, because I have had two stellar races going off this program. Thankfully, I am one of those people who is quick to trust and diehard in commitment. Eventually, I may get frustrated with my coach or my training plan, but I am not the expert, he is. I expect to be heard, but I also expect to be told. Honesty is one of the qualities I rate highly in others and in myself. And it is necessary to have a trusting relationship. So I trust Lee, and his training. No matter how I feel in the coming months, I trust him to pull me through it and I expect I will come out better on the other side. Plus, not many people seem to realize how beneficial the coach/athlete relationship can be for the athlete. Do you really sole responsibility for your race performances? For me, I want to have someone to celebrate with and someone to debrief with when the race doesn't go as planned. I want someone who will take some of the responsibility for a poor performance, because they are a crucial part of your success as well. Anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves. And any coach who only wants to be credited on the sunny days is exceptionally selfish.

Fourth, I would like to say that I don't have the pressure of college athletics hanging on my shoulders, however I have been relieved of that duty since December (thus pre-marathon). But graduating from college has capitalized on the relief of being single minded for the first time in my running career. Not that I hated being a part of a team (I actually loved it and sought it out post-collegiately) but feeling like a leader and that my actions could somehow influence other people's results was exhausting. And that has been my life for the past nine years. Now I have a team, so to speak, to train with and race with, but I feel no pressure to make sure any other individual is successful. Obviously, I am a caring person and want to support my friends and teammates to the best of my ability, but I am not going to lay awake at night trying to figure out how to make sure we accomplish our goals. As I see it, I can be most beneficial to the team by always having a positive attitude, working hard, and racing to the best of my ability on race day.

If you are still reading at this point I would like to applaud you. I realize this has been a bit long winded, but the way I see it, no one is forcing you to read on. There are just a few thoughts I would like to leave you with, things I am going to try to keep in mind in the near future. All the work I am doing now and will be doing, although it seems to be having a pretty immediate result, is intended to be the most beneficial months down the road. My sights are already set on the track and hopefully that will make is easier for me to cope with any sort of decline in performance I may experience between now and then. The way I see it, I will be going into track a completely different runner than I was in college. That being said, my recent performance has led me to fantasize about my goals, incredible things I never would have imagined dreaming of just a few months ago. But my mind continually reminds me to take it one day at a time. I have my goals for now and I won't get a chance to meet them until track season rolls around. No matter how fast I run between now and then, I want to run 16:15 in the 5k and 34:30 in the 10k, well I guess faster than those times would be ok too;-). I can't know what will happen when I actually set out on the track to meet those goals, but until I reach or surpass them, I am not going to get carried away. I know I have years of training ahead of me and that my results are not going to come easily overnight. However, I am also not going to limit myself in the long run. Once I meet my goals, I will set new ones, continue to raise the bar until I have reached the limit of my potential.

I have also become aware of how selfish you have to be to be a professional (or aspiring professional) athlete. Yes, I already realized this to some extent in college, but I didn't feel it personally as much because I was always trying to be selfless for the team. Now I can see, I spend my time in whatever way will benefit me best. Because if I am too tired, and this seems to be the biggest one, then I can't train like I want to. But I never want to sacrifice my marriage to pursue my athletic career. Thankfully, Jake is on a similar journey so he understands what it takes to train every day, to eat well every day, to get enough sleep. And it does put strain on our relationship, but nothing we haven't been able to deal with thus far. I want to see him reach his goals as much as he wants to see me reach mine. And that means helping each other out and living with the sacrifices and choices we have to make together. The stresses we face in life now may change if we ever meet our goals, but they won't disappear. They will merely shift and perhaps be even more taxing. But like I said earlier, there is no point dreading on what may come to pass, all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us (and yes I did paraphrase that from Gandolf in Lord of the Rings). Nerd move for sure. Well, I suppose it is time to wrap up and say thanks for reading. Always remember it is the journey that matters in the end. Until next time then!

e.