Confidence

SNAPSHOT

My way weaves and sways and dips when my confidence is low.

DIGGING DEEPER

In two days I will toe the line at a race that I attempted one year ago. This race could easily turn into a yearly test of my fitness: weaknesses and strengths. So I am weary of the test and its results. 

Am I slipping backward? Is my age finally catching up with me? Did I not work hard enough, loving comfort?  Was all the work this year worth it?  The thoughts get tangled in my mind along with the emotions and fears.  Am I in denial? Or will I have a breakthrough?

This is test anxiety as a 39-year-old.

My son searched for the last location to place his Rummikub tile in order to win the game.  He thought it was hopeless.  On the precipice of him giving up, I blurted out, "You can win."  His dark horizon flashed with light. There was hope and he searched with confidence. He was going to search until he found the combination needed to take the win.  Nothing had changed at that moment but my declaration of possibility. He went from no confidence in winning to full confidence in winning.  I gave the vote of confidence because I saw the path to victory. 

What can confidence do in a person's life?

It can open up doors.

It can give renewed strength.

It can make the journey less painful.

As I ran with a training partner and friend last Thursday, I shared my need for confidence. I need someone, whom I believe, to say, "You can win." I need someone in my life that when I don't see any hope, they can declare an open path to victory.

I am thankful for the role I play in my husband's, children's, friends', and athletes' lives where I can instill confidence. Now it is my turn to hear those around me who are declaring my open path to victory. 

SOLUTION

Putting aside fear I embrace this opportunity to run without restraint and instead with hope and confidence. 

If you are looking for more confidence in your running, considering working with me as your coach.

A Long Story about An Unplanned Long Run

SNAPSHOT

A long story with running, parenting, and life principles.

DIGGING DEEPER

An afternoon spring day called myself and two of my children on a short run/ride.  It was an opportunity to get them outside and exercise.  Being it was their first ride of the season, it wasn’t so difficult to persuade them to help me log a few running miles.

On my son’s request, we ventured towards the high school lacrosse field, about 2 miles away.  Now, when I run alongside my biking kids I tend to keep a faster upbeat pace in order to keep up. So the first 2 miles were a bit of a shock to the body and I guessed the run would stay under 4 miles.  

However, once at the back fields of the high school, I found a new path that I had never run on.  Quickly distracted from the tougher pace, we ventured on through the town. My mind enjoyed the challenge of taking the kids to new places within the town and we found ourselves near the Aldi and Menards stores that we usually drive to. 

As we passed the bank that was on my errand list, I regretted not having the check I needed to deposit. Next time on a tour of the town, I will fold the check into a baggie and store it in my Spibelt to reduce driving around town. 

Continuing on by taking different turns than before, we ended up passing the downtown stores. I always feel silly running through downtown sidewalks that usually are trodden upon by leisurely shoppers.

All this touring around the town with kids on bikes requires pauses at stop lights and slowing down as I guard them crossing streets. These breaks don't hinder my long runs because the body is still getting the miles or time on the feet.  Long runs most of the time should be run at a slow, easy pace. Importantly I want to model to my community a family outdoors exercising together.  Back in NY, I strived to count how many summer days I could spend time in my community without traveling by car.  My children have learned how to bike safely and know their way throughout their community. It is delightful to power your own transportation.

Next up was the library and town park/beach.  My daughter quickly planned another run/ride that would include a stop at the library to read magazines and with a checkout limit of two lightweight books.  Once we reached the playground, I left the kids to chase each other around as I circled the park twice to add in another mile.  

Playground hopping throughout a run/bike has been a favorite combination for my children as they have been growing up with a runner mom.  With them on bikes and me by foot, we find all the playgrounds within miles.  They get 10 minutes to play as I circle each park.  Our neighborhood in NY was dotted with parks.  I love the company and watching them enjoy the playgrounds.  

Before leaving the town park we plan our summer kayak trips across the lake to the beach, playground, and library.  Traveling throughout town using different modes of transportation opens up many new adventures and routes.  

With 9 miles on my watch, I knew we had to head back home, but the only way home was around the lake. The last two miles could feel long but I knew the route would go by quickly with a distraction. We stopped at the dam and watched the spring run-off thaw the frozen lake before it continues onto the Mississippi River a few miles downstream.  What makes a run like this fun for children is the stopping and enjoying the scenes and locations.  

Since my purpose for the run had changed from a short usual run to a long run, it didn’t matter if it included a minute stop here and there because I was just going for a minimum running time amount.  

As we attempted to find a trail through a neighborhood that would create a safer route, I was able to include the kids in the decision making, which always makes the last mile seem a little easier.

At last, we were nearing our house when my watch said 1:25:00.  Since 5 more minutes would reach my long run minimum of 1:30:00, I didn’t skip a step as I passed by my driveway.  The kids couldn’t resist the freedom and fun of biking downhill and kept on the journey with me. 

Fatigue was setting in and I was having to focus on just moving forward.  Glancing at my watch, I realized that I would end with 11 point something miles, which would not be acceptable.  So instead of the 1:30:00 planned finish, I declared that 12 miles was the new goal.  With a determined mindset, I worked hard up the hills.

The watch clicked from 11.99 to 12.0 and my body halted and with the rush of accomplishment and surge of tired muscle pain.  

This story is not an oddity in my normal life, as it happened quite similarly today on another Thursday afternoon run. 

SOLUTION

Running Principle I Hold

When there is a fork in the road or several options in front of you, take the longest, hardest, path. This is how you become tough physically and mentally.

Parenting Principle I Hold

Sprinkle fun and options into our family’s journeys. This is where memories and love grow.

Life Principle I Hold

There are many ways to the same destination. Putting aside unreasonable guilt, I have the freedom to tailor the paths within my daily life.

Race Smarter to the Finish Line

SNAPSHOT

Tune up for your next race by reading my latest Adirondack Sports Magazine article.

DIGGING DEEPER

Sports are a strategic game. Knowing more strategies to positively position yourself within the race helps to outwit competitors or even yourself. The racing experience becomes deeper and more intriguing when race strategies are employed. After 16 training years and over 250 races ranging from 400 meters to half marathons, I have gathered a few gems to share with you. When asked to imagine a calming location, often people place themselves on an ocean’s beach. I place myself on the center turf of an outdoor track meet with the hot sun shining down on me as I stretch and listen to the fans cheer.

UPhill

Tangents

1/2 secret mile

Plus 8 more tips to improve your racing experience and finish time!

Read Race Smarter to the Finish Line

SOLUTION

Hint: Smile! It so works!

Transitioning Back to Normal

SNAPSHOT

When forced into a short running break and ready to return use these two guidelines to make it a smooth transition.

DIGGING DEEPER

A remodeling project and moving a household of six required not just bodily strength but all the available minutes in a day (and night).  Therefore running had to be set to the side for 8 weeks this winter.  I still got 1 or 2 runs in per week at a reduced distance but I lost running fitness.  

Once I could traverse my new neighborhood with my running shoes on, I employed my transition strategy.  Perhaps you will we find it helpful if you need a transition phase before the leaves fill the trees this spring.

At the point where winter meets spring.  The run started with light rain, turned to bouncy hail, and finished with slippery slush. Welcome Spring!

1) Run half the distance of your before break regular run.  Before the break, you were most likely enjoying a regular run of a distance between 3-6 miles.  Whatever that distance was, cut it in half.  This is your new distance for the first week.  The next week you can add a mile to the distance.  Keep up this pattern until you can return to your previous regular run distance.

2) Only run every other day.  With our motivation high it is tempting to tie up the running shoes for days in a row.  However, running too often can actually cause you to lose all that motivation and even worse send you back indoors with an injury.  So stick hard and fast to this rule.  I easily enjoyed my other hobbies during my no running days.  So did my children as the cookies were a delight and I got more unpacking done.

Don't Forget

Extra attention to flexibility and mobility during this time can help to ease the transition and sore muscles.  Don't just hop back into your car or in the shower without giving your muscles and joints some extra attention.  Frequency in stretching and mobility work can go a long way for runners.

When to break free of the guidelines:

Once you are back to the regular run distance you can start placing the running days next to each other. 

There you go! 

That is how you make a healthy transition back to your previous running routine.

If your break from your running routine was due to injury, take extra caution and consult your doctor about their suggested rate increase of running distance.  Most likely they will suggest starting at 1/4 regular distance and adding the miles at a slower rate.

SOLUTION

Be flexible and understand that there are some months that running has to be set aside.  However be intentional about your re-entry into regular training.

Not Just a Daily Run

SNAPSHOT

A daily run is so much more than just a few miles on a road, it is the peaceful moments that cultivate who I am.

DIGGING DEEPER

Many miles into my 6 am weekday run I spy an older woman in her dark long pants and white shirt. Sheltered by a sunhat she is bent over engrossed within her morning work of weeding. Her box of tools consisting of a spade, hoe, and trowel was within feet of her position. She never looked up, just kept bent over, nurturing her garden. The hot August sun did not give her a break even in the early morning hours. We were the two lonely people out working in the morning air as the early sun rose.

I was caught off guard because she was in a huge field that at a one person weeding rate would be endless. Why was she working so hard at something so repetitive and vast that it seemed meaningless?

Suddenly, I was struck by the reality that I too was a lonely gardener weeding my vast field.  Having not seen another runner in the town at that early morning hour for the past week. I was that one runner that encircled the small Minnesota town without skipping a wake-up call. Each step was another weed pulled, each morning's run was another row in the field.  With each November becoming my fall season of harvest.  The planning of the spring,  hot summer runs, and the never giving up attitude of a sport that goes for all 12 months, is my gardening.

Many would have driven their cars quickly by on their way to work without even a glance over the field.  No one would notice a lonely gardener in a field that machines should tend to. Her work only had meaning for herself.  As my work only has meaning for myself, valuing my own harvest without performances worthy of notice.

I was adding up 12,000 weeds pulled or steps taken each morning.  Why was I so diligent at this meaningless or meaningful work? After each breath in, I was breathing out stress, frustration, sadness, and worry. Without those releases, I would be bound and chained by my life's disappointments and inconsistencies.  The release of expectations and the birth of new creative solutions made my day approachable.  By halfway through my hour tending my garden, my body, I felt alive again. I could see beauty and knew my diligence would reap rewards. 

My 6am gardener in a sunhat with her garden tools near at hand and I are one and the same.  When I rise in the dark and kept moving toward the door and trail beckoning my name, my gardener and I rise together, step together, knowing that our diligence will reap the fall harvest.

SOLUTION

Not alone in my vast garden.