IT'S OK TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE?

I came across the below card the other day and all my training finally made sense...



A card that inspired me


Pretty much all my life I've resided in my "comfort zone". 
I like routine:  I get up about the same time everyday, I eat the same breakfast and lunch, I workout in the morning and/or at midday, I go to bed at the same time each night. 
It's simple, it's nice, and it's comfortable.
My training (and racing) too has been comfortable - although I didn't know it until recently.

Don't get me wrong - I've pushed myself out of my comfort zone.
I've river boarded down class IV+ rapids in Montana, I've rappelled off 400 foot cliffs in Utah, and I've changed jobs in the work setting where I was uncertain of my knowledge/capabilities.
So I know what it's like in certain instances.

However as I started to train for my OT push I didn't know that I had never done this with my running.
I started training with a heart rate monitor and thought when I hit 163-165 that I was working hard, that I was pushing my limits - although my coach told me differently.
What I finally realized about 2 weeks ago - yes it took me this long to figure it out - was I had been running in my comfort zone the whole time. 
My entire running life - whether teenage years, early twenties, or during my adventure racing years I had been running comfortably.

It took a couple of break through workouts where I saw my heart rate hit 179/180, the above card, and a 10K race to finally make the lights come on in my head.

The race I mentioned above was a popular (2600 people) late summer event called Pints to Pasta.
The plan my coach had laid out for me was run 6.5 miles to the start, race the 10K, and finish up with a 5 mile post race run.
Never in my life had I run 6.5 miles right before a race - I was thinking this just might be crazy - but believed I could still run the 10K fast.

As I waited for the start to begin I felt calm and ready to see what I was capable of.
10K's - at least for me - are difficult races to run. 
You definitely need speed, but you need a dose of strength as well.
If I wanted to run competitively I would need to go beyond my comfort zone.

The first 3 miles went by quickly and my coach was waiting to pace me at the 3 mile marker.
I was feeling strong but knew I was pushing myself beyond where I had been before.

Pints to Pasta 10K

I had a slow mile and lost focus a bit between mile 4-5 - but got back on track for the final mile push to the finish.
When I crossed the line I saw the clock still had a 37 on it.
I had just run 37:40 - the fastest 10K of my life - 1 minute faster than what I had run 5 weeks before.
3 months ago I would have never believed that I could run sub 38 for this distance and yet here I was proving myself wrong.

Pints to Pasta 10K Finish Line

The race wasn't easy - it was UNCOMFORTABLE - but at the same time it felt good.
Ok it felt good when the race was over, I could take a deep breath, and realize that I had just pushed out of my comfort zone and the results proved to be better than expected.

I know I learned a great lesson, at the right time, and I hope that I can apply it not only to my running going forward but to other aspects of my life.
Just like the card said...life begins at the end of your comfort zone...

PTO

Paid time off or as most people know it vacation.

I finally had some of it the week of Labor Day when my parents came out for a visit.

Mom, Dad, and me at Crown Point

                                              
Training had been tough: mileage was higher than what I had done before and intensity was higher as well.
Work had been crazy busy, I had taken on added responsibility, and multiple people were on sabbatical (5-6 weeks off from work).
It was time to recharge and have some down time - it was past due.

My family and I did great Portland things like visit the rose garden....

 

Rose Garden

 

We went to the Gorge...



Columbia River Gorge



We traveled to wineries and tasted great Pinot Noirs...



 

Anne Amie Winery - Carlton, OR

I recharged, I reconnected with family, and remembered why I love living in the Pacific Northwest so much.

I felt rested, happy, and healthy.

Training didn't stop but it seemed easier.

Hard workouts weren't quite as hard.

Yasso 800's (10 of them) at 2:43/44 pace were achievable.

It was a good reminder that everyone - including myself - needs a break every so often.

Marty has said this numerous times before but sometimes I don't listen.

You can only burn the candle at both ends for so long.

Only 3 weeks out from the Chicago Marathon- here's to staying rested, happy, and healthy.

Character Builder

Whether professionally or personally we've all had them....days that test our resolve, days that frustrate, days that just don't go right.  Even with careful planning, when you think you've done everything just right, that little thing sneaks up on you and can ruin your whole day...but only if you let it.

Today for me was one of those days...
It started out innocently enough.  I got up at 5am to eat an English muffin and to have some tea before my weekly Wednesday morning track session.  Drove down to work (where we have a track) and met up with my coach. 

It was a perfect morning - cool, clear, crisp.  Just the sort of day that you hope for when hitting the track.  The goal was to warm up for a 1 mile, do 6 miles at 6:05 pace, then a 1 mile warm down.  Considering I had never run this fast (for this long) ever before there was a small bit of uncertainty but I truly believed I could do it. 

                                          My favorite pre run breakfast an English muffin and hot tea



We began our 6 mile session and all was going great.  The first 2.5 miles were almost what I would consider comfortable.  It wasn't taxing it was manageable, nice, steady. 
But then it happened.  I could feel it happening and there wasn't anything I could do about it. 
I asked my coach (PC) if we could stop for just a few seconds. 
His response "No!  During the marathon the pace group or the people you are running with are not going to stop for you." 
Yeah - OK - good point.  Not what I wanted to hear but knew it was the truth. 
So what was happening?  Why did I need to stop? 
My right shoe had come untied! Ugh! 
Rookie mistake but wait I'm not a rookie?! 
So I had to stop and tie my shoe and in the process lost 25 seconds.  Yikes!
So now what?

                                            My favorite "fast shoes" that I need to learn how to tie
  
   

I started running again and tried to block all the chatter in my head.  The chatter that was saying "you are now officially off pace just stop" or the chatter that was saying "just wait until your coach comes back around and hop back on the 6:05 train." 
But instead of listening to that I started running again,  I knew that I was not going to hit my time but I was not going to give up.  I was going to finish the 6 miles and still do it as fast as I could.

Yeah I know this whole thing may seem like no big deal to some people...it's just a track workout, it's just a silly dream I'm chasing, but it was a resolve tester.
I realized later in the day that even though I didn't hit my goal pace I learned more from the workout than if things would have gone perfectly.  I didn't quit, I didn't wait to latch back on to my coach.  I kept going and finished those 6 miles. It was harder than it should have been because I had to run the last 3 miles by myself and I had to shut out the negative thoughts in my head.

I realized that we all have days that don't go right or situations that don't turn out the way we planned.  But ultimately we are in control of how we react to those circumstances.  We have the ability to take a challenging situation and turn it into something more positive.  Maybe it's still not perfect or not up to expectations but at least we have the ability to be proud of how we left things.
I also realized that I will be taking a shoe tying 101 class immediately!

CHASING DREAMS

The first time I remember chasing a dream was 1984.  It was the first ever Women's Olympic Marathon and Joan Benoit Samuelson won Gold.  I told my parents after watching her win that one day I would run a marathon. In 1992 that dream came true and I finished the Chicago Marathon with a time of 3:58.

In the mid 90's I came across a show on television called the Eco Challenge.  It showcased teams of 4 people who had to work together to complete 500+ miles of racing via running, mtn biking, kayaking, rope work, and other crazy things.  I told myself that one day I just had to experience this.  I completed my first race in 1999 - a short 12 hour event on the island of Catalina.  Years later I crossed the finish line with my teammates at one of the most epic events I've ever participated in - Primal Quest Montana. It took us almost a week to finish and we slept less than 8 hours in those 7 days - we placed 8th. The initial dream had taken me farther than I had ever imagined and pushed me well beyond any so called limits.

The marathon dream came back into focus in 2008 when I decided I wanted to chase another dream.  A shot at running a sub 3 hour marathon.  I needed over 13 minutes to make that happen.  My first attempt at the end of 2008 wasn't successful but I didn't give up hope.  A year later I ran the California International Marathon and ran a 2:57:55. 

So that leads me to now...where the time has come for another crazy dream.  One that makes me nervous, excited, scared, determined, and honestly a bit uncertain if I can actually achieve it.  I'm almost certain that I have these feelings each time I set off to chase a dream or achieve a goal.  However, this is the first time I've shared my aspirations so freely with others. 
So what am I all worked up about?  I'm going to go for the Olympic Trials Qualifying standard for the marathon - a sub 2:46.  It's lofty, it's ambitious, and it's beyond my comfort level and slightly out of my reach but that's ok....because as Robert F Kennedy once said "only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."  I may not achieve my dream but I won't know until I try and I'm excited to see where this journey takes me.