Plotting and Planning

Truth – I wrote this post back on April 15th while watching the Boston Marathon. A lot has changed since that Monday. It was a big high for me. That is until a few hours later when everything changed. It doesn’t change the plan, or my dream. This is just to give some perspective for this post. For awhile I thought I wouldn’t post this, but then I realized that the actions of 2 people haven’t changed what I want to do as a runner.

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Be careful what you say. Or maybe be careful where you say what you say. Monday morning I mentioned I had race envy of friends running the Boston Marathon. Coach Glenn, who has started helping Jeff with my training schedules, was listening. Over the next 30 minutes we discussed how I could get there. And by there I mean the Boston Marathon.

For those not familiar with the Boston Marathon you have to achieve a qualifying time to be able just to register. Fortunately, I move up to a new age group in 4 months, and get an extra five minutes. So then I just have to run a marathon in 3 hours and 40 minutes. Talk about daunting. Ah, yes the head and the heart are once again disagreeing!

How do you know where you can go if you never try? Some of my co-workers have mentioned that I don’t run to my potential at all. So, back to that conversation with Glenn. I’m going to do some things that might scare me a bit. I’m going to push through when my head tells me to stop. I’m not going to hold myself back anymore. I’m ready to see if I can get to that dream goal! A few racing plans are changing as well as some fueling things, but it’s all for a purpose. It’s the BG to BQ plan as my co-worker Cheri has nicknamed it.

#prayforboston

My mind has been all over the place since 3:09 yesterday. The running community is a special group. It doesn’t matter what size you are, color, where you live, or how fast you are everyone is embraced, and encouraged. Whether it’s a good morning in the wee hours of the morning, a chat along a race course, or a high-five we support, and encourage each other. Yesterday our community went through something unthinkable. It struck many of the people who matter the most to us, our family. Our support through the long hours of training, our cheerleaders. And while so many of us have been rattled we also come together as a community. To support those injured, and the first responders. To support each other. Some are wearing Boston marathon colors today, or race shirts to stand together. You can donate or give blood through the Red Cross. Today we pray for Boston

Pushing through

I’ve been working on figuring out a few things when it comes to auditions, and races. I am brilliant at training/practicing. I do everything I need to, all of the scheduled workouts, and hours of practicing, but when it comes to the big day things don’t always go the way I hope. Saturday I ran my first 8k race, and I figured out a few things about myself. Ways I can improve, and somethings I don’t like.

We grow up with phrases like “when life gets tough, the tough keep going.” Do I keep going when it’s tough? The honest answer is not always. I need to learn to push through when things get tough. Maybe I’m tired and don’t want to practice, or I gloss over important details that can make or break an audition. If the end result is to win backing off isn’t going to get me there. Instead changing up the practice session with some slow practicing to reinforce technique could make a big difference. Maybe it’s a hard race course with hill after hill. I need to learn to ignore what my head is saying about slowing down, and run with my heart instead of my head.

My goal for my next race, and audition is to ignore the doubt that creeps into my head, and go with my heart. As I remind my student I’m the only one who can hold myself back. What’s holding you back? And how can you grow from pushing through?