This has been quite a summer. We had our daughter Juliette on July 4 and have stayed quite busy with her as well as Matthew and Charlotte. Having three kids in the house has taken Z and I from playing a man to man defense, to always playing zone.
Running wise, it has been an incredible summer. In July, I strung together a period of 13 days where I ran 206 miles. Most of the runs were 2 to 4 hours long and took place in the mountains and heat of Southern California. As that 13 day block came to an end, my brain was in overdrive producing endorfins around the clock. I felt like superman. As is always the case after an intensive block of training like that, a rest period is warranted. The following ten days or so consisted of substantially less running volume. What I noticed was how I felt once the endorfins were gone. It was a funky malaise. I have had these many times before but this one was pretty intense. My brain was looking for reasons not to race the Angeles Crest 100 in September.
About a week ago, Z, the kids, and I were driving together. I was telling Z how I was not sure about running Angeles Crest. Matthew piped in from the backseat, "Dad, you always tell Charlotte and I to try our hardest. You have to do the race!" That outcry has been ringing in my head ever since. It was not hard to find my training groove after getting called out by my seven year old. I did a nice 34 mile run on Sunday, and am going to finish this week out big. I feel ready to rock and roll. Angeles Crest is on.
So why write did I write this entry?
I wanted to remind myself, especially before Angeles Crest of something I always tell the kids. "It always gets better." There can be no better mantra for the lowpoint of a 100 mile race when your mind and body are in the toilet. In life, these words are very powerful. They give me a sense of empowerment to believe that my thoughts and actions have a role in determining the outcome of a situation. When I say this phrase to myself, very often a problem starts to seems smaller. Once it seems smaller, a solution seems more attainable, and before I know it, I am looking at the problem in my rear view mirror. Last week, the mental low I was in got better, because after prodding by my son, I took actions to fix the problems with motivation.
Try it. The next time you are in a bad spot in a race or in life, just say the words to yourself over and over for a minute or two. "It always gets better". I bet your problems won't seem worse, and they might just seems a little smaller.
Posts
