Good, Great, Greatist

Many of us have heard of the book "Good to Great" by Jim Collins.  It is a somewhat common book used in business culture on how some companies progress from being pretty good to leaping forward, crossing the divide, and being great.  It is when I lived and trained in Indiana that I was introduced to this book. 
You have heard the phrase, "Don't let good get in the way of great."

It can be easy for us to stop pursuing higher realms when we're doing a good job.  We hear people cheering us on with, "Good job!" "Way to go!" "Nicely done!"  How common is it that we have someone in our lives reminding us that we could still do better, that we could still do great?  If you run everyday, people will be impressed.  If you run over 5miles they'll think you're in incredible shape.  If you win your age group, people will ask you about your prize.  But reflect for a moment - Could you complete a few training runs a little better?  Could you prepare for each day with a little more focus so you can knock your track session out of the park?  Could you have put more of a gap on 2nd place? 
This idea of 'good getting in the way of great' is fairly common, yet having those people in your corner supporting you to reach higher or dig deeper is less common.  For some, it's mom or dad.  For some it's another family member, an inspiring athlete, or a ruthless teammate.  For others it's a coach that is there for you helping you realize that you're not maxed out and that your good is not great.  You may have motivation deep down inside you, but still - find someone that checks up on you and once in a while either calls you out or eggs you on to one rung higher like Coach Pat Summit did year in and year out with the Lady Vols basketball team.

On the flipside, I was talking with my friend, Beth last week. 
(She also writes a blog = http://www.discombobulatedrunning.com/ )
In 2014 she competed in an Ironman.  Many people see a marathon or an Ironman as the ultimate challenge.  Beth did.  She is very involved in the athletic world and wanted to 'stack up' amongst others and challenge herself to the fullest.  


(Beth - http://www.discombobulatedrunning.com/ , photo courtesy of Daryl Wilson)

Since crossing the line in 2014, Beth has had a tough time getting motivated again.  She's had a tough time determining what holds value and what to do next.  I get it.  Since doing an Ironman, why care about a 1/2 Ironman? Since running a marathon at 8min pace, what worth does a 4mi run at 9min pace hold?  What's the point of it?  Who cares?  Why do it? 
If you have been in this situation before, you can relate that 'great is getting in the way of good' and it's frustrating.  Have you been running a workout or a race and noticed that it's not going great = you're not going to win or you're not going to PR?  How good can you still compete and finish?  Great athletes have great and good races, not great and 'oh it's not going to happen - throw in the towel' races. 

And finally (so you realize I'm not a terrible speller...and yes, my laptop has the red scraggly spellcheck line), a fun website introduced to me by my friend Morgan in 2013 is www.greatist.com  The MOVE section is fun for some new ideas here and there.  It's better geared towards fitness than championship racing, but hey, I'm often in tunnel-vision and don't mind an outside influence every so often.


(Morgan, #25, photo courtesy of WVU Sports)

Who do you have to keep supporting you in great endeavors? Who's your Coach Pat Summit?
Was today good?  Was today great?  Was today one of your Greatist days?


 

Goal 4: qualifying and marks

Remember that post "Having a coach help you with your goals" and goals 1-3?  Now here's the last goal of that 4-part goal series. 

I knew what I wanted.  I knew what was meaningful to me.  I came up with my four goals.  In the summer of 2008 they were far off and seemed lofty, yet I was sure of them.

1) acquire athletic sponsorship

2) make the PanAm team

3) compete in Europe

4) automatically qualify for the Trials finals and have an Olympic mark

It was June of 2012. I was qualified for the US Olympic Team Trials and I had hit 3 of my 4 goals.  If you look at goal 4, it seems like another pretty good goal.  Look at it.  Trials and Olympics! 
As a coach and as an athlete, I hated watching heat after heat and counting times and places to see if an athlete had made the next round on time.  Did he or she squeeze into the next round?!  It is nerve-racking and doesn't fully provide the greatest confidence boost.  At a big meet like the Trials where there's already a heckuva lot of adrenaline and excitement and anxiety, I wanted to be able to secure an automatic qualifying position which would mean that I raced smartly and took care of business.  I also wanted to get that Olympic qualifying mark because that's a big deal.  I understood that it didn't matter if you finished in the top-3 in the finals, but didn't have a fast enough time.  You wouldn't go to the Olympics and you could even be stealing an opportunity from someone that was good and had a bad day. 
I made sure to take care of business in the prelim.  I had been set on goal 4 for years.  It served me well.  I ran a terrific race and was pumped up during it.  I remember the last 500m of the prelim very well.  I was happy and confident and made a great move on the backstretch.  After the final water jump I knew I could get the automatic qualifying spot and finished well.  I ran a PR and got an Olympic mark.  Goal 4! Got it!

(post via LetsRun: top five advance automatically: Coburn, Kipp, Cathey, DiCrescenzo, and Wade. Aguilera the next fastest non automatic qualifier in 9:51.02. first heat of the women's 3000 Meter Steeplechase won by Emma Coburn at 9:43.19)

I was pleased with myself, cooled-down, and then got in the ice tank.  Then it hit me. 
Uh-oh.  Now what? 
I had no goal.  I had completed my 4 goals and it was Thursday evening in Eugene.  The finals were Saturday evening and I had no goal.  Of course it's everyone's goal to make the Olympics, right?  I had never really fully considered it.  I had tried to once or twice, but I couldn't wrap my head around it.  I had messed up.  Big time.  I didn't train with people that had been to the Olympics.  I didn't have a coach who trained athletes that had run in the track & field Olympics.  I'm not Michael Phelps or Michael Jordan or Shannon Miller. 
But who goes into the finals not aiming for the top-3?  How can you aim for the top-6?  Not in the Trials finals afterall.  Right?
The first 5minutes of the finals - here's what was going through my head on fast repeat:
"I'm in the top-3!  This feels good!  The top-3 make the Olympics!  I could make the Olympics!  The Olympics?!  I'd be peers with Michael Phelps and the likes?"  This was on repeat.  Like some terrible dj in my head with the lyrics looping.  This was exhausting.  I hit the mile mark and it got overwhelming and exhausting.  I wasn't focused in on the moment.  I wasn't focused in on the race.  I didn't know how to process this.  I wasn't prepared for the final.  I still am impressed with people that can wrap their heads around the idea that they could make the Olympics.  So lofty, so terrific.  I am still pleased with my process.  I learned to aim bigger.  I hit my goals.  I was zoned in fully.  But what if they had been bigger? 
What would you have done differently?  What goals do you have set for yourself?  Are they lofty?  Are you putting yourself in an environment that pushes you towards them?  Do your goals need to be evaluated by a coach?

 

Next week I will touch on 2008 and 2010 - part of the process. 

Goal 3 of 4

I wrote an earlier post titled "Having a coach help you with your goals" and so far I have touched on goals 1 and 2.  To bring you back to that post:

I knew what I wanted.  I knew what was meaningful to me.  I came up with my four goals.  In the summer of 2008 they were far off and seemed lofty, yet I was sure of them.

1) acquire athletic sponsorship

2) make the PanAm team

3) compete in Europe

4) automatically qualify for the Trials finals and have an Olympic mark

Over the next few weeks I will touch on these goals and the process of getting to them and what I learned.

Goal 3: Compete in Europe
In my mind and as I understood it, all the really good track & field for professionals happened in Europe.  In 2008, when I was coming up with my four goals, there weren't many competitive professional meets in the US, especially in the summertime.  Nowadays there are a few and the fields are terrific!  It's exciting to see the development.  In 2008 though, Europe was the place to be.  Whether it be for competition, for money, for the number of meets, for how the sport is conducted, or for almost any reason, Europe, in my mind, was where you had to race in order to really be an elite professional.  So I scheduled a trip.   
I have had a tendency to get involved in many things and not leave myself enough time to thoroughly and properly work through each item.  I am working more and more now to not check boxes, but to be more thoughtful and thorough in all that I do.  In 2011 though, I was adamant on goal 3 and approached this goal as a checklist item.  I had been running well each of the last three seasons and I didn't see 2012 as a good choice since it was an Olympic year and my 4year marker (more on that idea another time). I had to make it happen in 2011.  I wasn't part of a professional training group so I made my own plans.  With the help of David Watkins, the Verdoncks in Belgium, and a guy named Luc in Scandinavia, I got entered into a few meets, had places to stay, and was set-up to rabbit which guaranteed money to help support me on the trip.  I arranged the trip like a typical foreigner.  I was going to Europe.  Europe was Europe. This was my opportunity.  No big deal flying from the US to Finland to Belgium to Sweden.  Also known as the Indianapolis Road Mile to the Joensuu Games to the Flanders Cup to the Karlstad Grand Prix.  Also known as a 14.5hr flight and lots of time zones and a 2hr train ride, then another 1750miles and then 750 more miles.

Joensuu Games to Flanders Cup.

I found the email I sent to my family after booking my trip and completing the first leg of it.  Keys of the email:

I thought I was flying out Sunday from Chicago, but it appears I booked Monday the 25th.
En puhu suomea.  = I don't speak Finnish.  and Auttakaa! = Help!
Turns out...
I'm hoping to stay with a friend of...
We'll see if I can get anything...
I booked a ticket out of Oslo (hadn't checked to see if friend was in town while I was going to be there.  Guess what?!  She wasn't!)
I am only taking one backpack over to Europe
I'm only taking my iPod touch for wi-fi, not my laptop.  I'd rather not use my phone while I'm in Europe or Canada.  I'm not missing - I'll be exploring the world...and being me!  I learned a lot in Canada about how to make this trip smoother.  2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner, get some logistics figured out ahead of time, get help, make cash...or just PR! 

All quite concerning.  I thought I was ready for European racing because I had 2-in-1?!

After leaving the US on the 25th (not 24th!), I arrived into Helsinki about 9 or 10pm and took the 2hr train up to Joensuu.  I got checked into the dorm and raced the 1500m the next day.  It sure didn't go well as you likely could have and should have guessed.  I checked that meet off my list after having dinner with the Americans. I flew down to Belgium after a brief tour of Helsinki and Suomenlinna Island.  After finding my ride from Brussels to Ghent, I met the Verdoncks who hosted me, tried horse meat, and later that night rabbited the steeple.  Great opportunity and such a great experience at that meet.  On the cool-down most all the American girls ran together.  I listened and heard about their experiences and situation.  They had arrived into Europe and had a home base in Luzern.  19 days ago.  This was their first race.  They had been training. 
Ugh.  What was I doing!  I had asked for a little help, but I was definitely not in an elite athlete set-up.  Then is when I started learning that athletes were coming over to Europe and living for the summer months.  They weren't arriving one night and racing the next day, staying with friends of friends, and going for adventure runs wherever they could.  I toed the line, was a tourist for a day, and traveled to my next location.  Total whirlwind.  It was an amazing experience and medium racing.  I am glad I got out there.  I learned a lot about track and field and a little about Europe.  I would not do it the same way again.
What part of your life or work or training have you been simply checking off the list?  What does it look like to be more thorough and knowledgeable before acting?  It probably means getting fewer tasks done, but producing much more meaningful work.  How can you make an adjustment today to tackle the big projects and not get lost in the trees?

And then there's the trip I took in January of 2012, too!  We'll get to that another time!
 

Famous?

Once, back in high school, my mom and I were having a conversation about what I wanted to be when I grow-up.  We got to a point when I said that I did not want to be famous.  I was a very ambitious kid and so she continued the conversation further to understand my reasoning.
First, you've got to know two things:

1) Not until I was about 13 did I learn that Dolly Parton sang. I was with my grandmother in Tampa standing in line at the Whaley's grocery store.  I saw the magazine at the checkout counter with Dolly Parton plastered on the front.  "Grandmomma, is Dolly Parton famous for anything else besides her looks?" 

Of course I meant Dolly's bouncing bleach blonde curls, enormous boobs, miniature waist, and maybe the eyeshadow.  It was then that I learned that she sang.  And a few years later when I put her together with "I will always love you" and "Hard Candy Christmas"  which remain two of my very favorites. 

2) I am the same age as Britney Spears and had a hint of looking like her a teeny bit when I was in high school.  I did not want to end up shaving my head and having photographers constantly after me to see if I had put undies on that day.  That was too much. 

Instead, I told my mom that I wanted to be famous in my field. 

Back in April I got up to Boston to work the Boston expo.  One morning I was running with a few other NB associates along the Charles.  One guy I was with said. "that's Bill Rogers" as we passed some older man running nicely along the path in the opposite direction.  Pretty cool I thought.  Just the right amount of famous.  I continue to love the running community.

Last week I mentioned the quote about "What makes a man run?"  This week, I mention to you another quote given to me by my brother on a magnet that I also have on the side of the fridge:

"If you want to win a race, you have to go a little berserk." -- Bill Rogers

This doesn't mean you need to act stupid, be rash, or go crazy overboard. You need to realize the differences between taking a risk and knowing what is a calculated risk. 

How can you get uncomfortable?  When's the last time you did?  What scares you about getting into this realm?  What makes you hesitate?  What are you hung up on with yourself? 

When you get to 'that' part of a race or tough workout, how will you respond?

When I was training hard, I knew that was it for me.  I didn't question if I could hit the splits or do the work.  I questioned if I would go for it when planned...or would I try to rationalize at the tough moment that I should go later?  I questioned if when it got really hard would I be tough enough to dig down?  If the race went earlier than I hoped, would I step up to bat?  I worked on my self-confidence and I worked on my ego to get to a point of believing, "I can't help but go fast."  Training with this mindset got me places.  Having Bill Rogers running around in my head got me places.  I got to point where I didn't question myself.  That was incredibly freeing!  What places do you want to go?  How will you go a little berserk?

Goal 2

June 6, 2016

PICKING UP WHERE I LEFT OFF = Goal 2

I hit Pre's trails and so it began.  I knew what I wanted.  I knew what was meaningful to me.  I came up with my four goals.  In the summer of 2008 they were far off and seemed lofty, yet I was sure of them.

1) acquire athletic sponsorship

2) make the PanAm team

3) compete in Europe

4) automatically qualify for the Trials finals and have an Olympic mark

Over the next few weeks I will touch on these goals and the process of getting to them and what I learned.

Making the PanAm team quietly became a secret and annoying goal in 2007.  At the time, I was coaching at Duke and working with a girl named Liz.  I thought I was very much like Liz as a person and athlete, just a couple years older.   I traveled with Liz after the NCAA season to Indianapolis for the USA Track & Field championships.  I watched her compete in the finals of the steeplechase and finish high enough to fill-out her application for making the PanAmerican team.  She finished 6th.  Depending on who in the top-5 chose to accept the offer to compete at the PanAm Games, she had a chance of representing the USA in international competition.  What an honor!  I hadn't done every tempo, long run, regular run, or workout alongside her, but I had run alongside enough to know what she was doing and if I could hang.  I could hang for parts of it.  I could do the long run and stick with the team up the final hill of the Al Buehler trail along the golf course. I could go on a run, and I could do the strides over hurdles and barriers right in-step with her.  At that point though, I didn't have the training to be able to handle the work day-in and day-out.  I realized that I truly had the talent, but hadn't done the consistent work.  I was inspired.  Although I don't consider myself a jealous person in the least, I was a little jealous that she had been in an environment that encouraged the work and also that she had done it all. 

Liz in purple coaching for TCU - we reunite.

I tried to shelve the goal, but it didn't work.  When I get inspired, I get adamant.  I can't convince myself I'm ok if I've got this burning desire. 

My dad was in the Navy for 29 years.  He was a fighter pilot in the F/A-18 Hornet.  Bad ass hero.  (He was the oldest active fighter pilot in the world when I was growing up.)  He fought for our country and I realized that I wanted to wear the USA proudly on my chest, too, and fight.  As he reminded me, "Go fast and turn left."  It's not only how you run a track race, it's how he took off from and landed back on the aircraft carrier.  

Thanks, dad!

I shelved the goal.  Until 2008. Then I started getting ready. 

Quick note

Quick note: It will not always be your best day, your favorite day, your smoothest day.  Our days and weeks can feel more like fartleks rather than smooth tempo runs.  Both are super-useful in training.

Years ago, back when we were in high school, my brother gave me one of my very favorite gifts.  It had nothing to do with him and everything to do with me.  A true gift. It was super thoughtful. I'm not always a fan of quotes because they can be taken out of context or they can't express a whole concept.  I have taught myself, however, to get something out of them and leave the negative thoughts about how they don't apply behind.
He typed up a bunch of running quotes, laminated them, and cut each one out individually.  Each quote has a magnet on the back and I keep a couple on the fridge.  One that I have up right now is this:

     "What makes a man run?  People can't understand why a man runs.  They don't see any sport in it.  Argue it lacks the sight and thrill of body contact.  Yet, the conflict is there, more challenging than any man versus man competition.  For in running it is man against himself, the cruelest of opponents.  The other runners are not the real enemies.  His adversary lies within him, in his ability, with brain and heart to master himself and his emotion."  --Glenn Cunningham

Watching the Lightning play hockey is thrilling.  It's not what you do though.  Watching Olympic athletes in the 1500m or 10K finals - it is man against others.  But this is about YOU.  It is about what you are doing.  Let's give it our best go.  Let's not get intimidated by others, but realize we're all out there trying to do the same thing.  We're all trying to progress. 

 ...In return, later that year I gave my brother the new Green Day album.  We still drove to school together and I wanted to listen to it so I disguised it in a gift for him.  Oh gosh-- Selfish!  No wonder I'm in my mid-30s and single and he's been married for 13yrs and has four adorable children, two golden retrievers, and the fenced in yard!

Goal 1

June 9, 2016

---following up from previous blog post---

Goal 1 = Acquire Athletic Sponsorship. 

When athletes tell me this is their goal, I often scoff.  I think - they just want free stuff, but free gear isn't that important when it comes to development of an athlete.  I often tell the athlete that doing the work is important and don't worry about the sponsorship.  Get in the races and improve.  Beat people.  Beat good people.  (We used to call this a 'scalp'). 
But I get it.  To me, acquiring athletic sponsorship was important.  To me it meant that I was making it and I was being recognized for the work I was doing and the results I was hitting.  I wanted to be a part of something.  I wanted to continue to be on a team.  I wanted to be supported in my endeavors.  I applied and got accepted onto the Saucony Hurricanes team.  This club is a good idea and a pretty basic program.  At the time there were maybe 75 Hurricanes across the US.  I was part of something!  I got kit in the mail and shoes to wear.  I was outfitted and was like a walking billboard for the brand.  I did some social media for them and kept running better and better.  I let them know about it.  I hit a couple good marks and got a couple scalps.  I won some races and got some prize money.  I qualified for the Trials. 

I traveled out to Eugene for the meet.  The day of the prelims I met up with the manager of the Saucony Elite program.  He handed me a backpack full of new gear.  I no longer was going to wear the black & orange kit that night, but I got the teal blue one. 

He said I needed it and had earned it.  I believed I had earned it...and also the Hurricane kit was illegal according to all the uniform rules they have in track & field about logo sizes.... He welcomed me to the Elite team and dinner with everyone that night at the Oregon Electric Station.  I felt like I belonged.  I was 'in' then and that helped me calm my nerves on the warm-up and the starting line.  It made me feel more prepared, more legit, more like a contender.  I was serious.  And I was excited. 

Later that season I also applied to PowerBar through the recommendation of a friend.  I was fortunate to get picked up by them as well and learned a lot about marketing and social media through that experience.  I also tried every single flavor of every single product.

Again, for me, acquiring athletic sponsorship was a goal because it was important to me to feel like I belonged and was part of a team.

What, for you, makes you feel legit?  What do you like to have in place to lessen any feelings of intimidation or feeling like an outsider?  What do you do that makes you feel special or fully prepared?