What's your motivation?

I was down in Sarasota last week talking with a girl I know fairly well.  She had done one Spartan Beast Challenge competition earlier this month.  Next, she is travelling to a Spartan event in South Carolina and Jacksonville after that.  As she talked more, I realized that she really-really likes these events and a lot of her life revolves around Spartan activities.  I've never done one so I couldn't fully get absorbed in her stories.  When I asked her, "Why SC?" she told me that this particular 3-part series, multi-location Spartan Beast Challenge gets a really-really cool medal. I kept quiet while thinking, "You're going to travel to SC to line yourself up for a  3-part series completion medal?" 

I kept listening, but I again realized that I am in 0-no way motivated by special medals like these or the Disney Coast-to-Coast ones.  It's great that some people get excited by that.  You've got to get excited by something, and well - can you imagine how competitive or depressing it would be if we were all only motivated by the same single thing?   I'm glad she's found something that revs her up.  On my drive home I had to think about what revved me up before and what revs me up now. 

It's not medals.  It never has been.  It wasn't the state rings that were my motivating factor, except a tad bit for the one that I got to mimic my brother's. 
The motivation, for me, would be to have people know me, to be famous in my field, for people to think highly of me, for them to want my autograph, to be sought out for interviews or posters, to have the platform to talk with coaches and kids and adults about athletics and the role it has in my life. 
In high school, I was motivated by breaking records and getting the State Championship. I enjoyed the pictures up in the gym with my teammates and coaches, by myself, and next to my brother.  Those pictures would be there for years.  If the records were good enough, they'd be there for years, too. The work would stick around for a little while longer.  For awhile they could see my name or my face and recall how hard I worked, how nice our group of girls was, or be motivated by the example, understand the tradition, and accept the challenge.
Yeah, the last two paragraphs might sound selfish or be egotistical, but those things were somewhat motivating.  Moreso I'd say I was thankful and it was nice to receive the recognition and to represent.  It may have also been for the reason that how we competed didn't involve running out of a tunnel to cheering crowds or coordinated cheers in the student section.  We ran over train tracks, into the woods for awhile, and met early in the morning and ran while it was still dark outside.  Half of our competitions weren't at home.
The real motivation (the non-things) has come from constant intrinsic discipline.  I wouldn't get outworked.  I had a young head that developed strongly around the ideas of doing what I learned, what I was told, and what was needed.  I pushed because I could.  How could you not?  How could you leave practice before you were done?  How could you not complete your weight room workout and step it up from the previous workout?  How could you not run the given mileage and strides as prescribed or even one more if you lost count? Why were these ideas so strongly burnt in me? 
I'm glad they were though. What things and non-things motivate you?  What doesn't motivate you at all?

 

Gregorian

A couple weeks ago, my godmother, Margo, sent me an article in the mail.  I send links all the time, but let me tell you - it was really nice to get this article in an envelope in my mailbox.  I am glad Margo sent it to me.  It was an article about Courtney Frerichs, a recent master's graduate, who ran the 3K Steeplechase in the 2016 Olympics and PRd at the meet.  She's a Kansas City girl - where Margo lives.  One particular paragraph stood out from the article.  I tore it out and have stared at it day after day.  I don't recall who wrote the article because I only have the torn-out paragraph now.  Still, I want to share this with you and give the writer credit for these words:
And here we might all pause in appreciation of those people in life who see in us something we don't know we have, those who believe in you before you believe in yourself and change your range and direction and self-perception.
Who might you believe in like this and guide along the way?

What's on YOUR plate (part 2 of 2)

I am very literal.  To me, your words mean a lot.  I am a believer in context and the specifics of your content. 
As I have mentioned, I am careful when it comes to relying on quotes.  I want to believe in not only the singular quote, but also the overarching theme and the speaker's values. 
Since high school and even into my years as a coach at UCF, I had a bulletin board up in my room, locker, or office.  (anyone still use bulletin boards anymore?)  I kept a powerful quote on that bulletin board...and well, it is from the Bible, so it's pretty easy to value!
1 Corinthians 10:21

You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord's Table and at the table of demons, too.

This quote in 1st Corinthians centers around fleeing from idolatry.  You know though - the Bible can be tough to understand!  And I was a 17yr old looking for discipline and reminders to be good and steadfast all the time.  I didn't idolize cross-country, but I did and still do heavily value the sport.  To do well was a healthy desire.  I used this quote to remind me to be a good person all the time everywhere.  I used this quote to not be a hypocrite.  I used it to help me keep choosing the good path.  I used it to remind myself to be a "24-hour-athlete" that was training through the summer and all school season.  I wasn't just showing up for practice day after day. 

First race of 1999 cross-country season (senior Hilary White Spier in black & me in red)

Final race of 1999 cross-country season (sophomore Jill Gerber leading and senior and college teammate Kelly Walker Brasol just behind me)

 

Being a 24hr athlete is another way of understanding the difference between being in 'practice mode' where you're going to practice in the morning or after school and spending an hour or so running versus being in 'training mode'.  Training mode is when you're living the life that supports your goals.  You're not practicing hard, but also sleeping very little.  Those are two very different things to have on your plate that do not support each other.  You're not running intervals hard on Sunday, but keeping your heart rate at 125bpm the rest of the week.  Practice mode is showing up for 2hrs of practice and eating chips for dinner because you didn't feel like making chicken and veggies.  Where do you fall short in training?  What keeps you from being a 24hr athlete?  Do you have too many things on your plate?  Where's your conflict, what's your demon?  Thankfully, my teammates and our coach, Tracey Kuhn, shared the same values and beliefs.  I am so thankful for Ashley, Natalie, Erin, Ali, Marisa, Ashley, Jen, Nicole, Leah, and Coach Tracey Kuhn.

 







What's on YOUR plate? (part 1 of 2)

When I decided to get back to competition, I called a few people I really trusted and who understood what was ahead --the people I considered experienced experts.  Ok, and also the people that I knew would pick up the phone and have this conversation with me.  I also called these two coaches because they knew ME.  I talked to Kevin Jermyn at Duke and Bob Braman at FSU.  In previous blog postings, you may recall I've mentioned both for something else they've helped me with along the way. 

I sat in my apartment in Orlando.  I was at the dining room table, probably taking notes.  I've always liked putting pen to paper.  One thing Kevin said to me really stood out.  He said, "you can have three things on your plate."  He wasn't talking about peas and carrots and chicken or salad and rice and beans.  He was telling me that I needed to focus in on my goals and not have too many things going on at once.  I knew Kevin was right.  I had heard him say this before to athletes at Duke when we coached there together.  I heeded his wisdom and moved to Indianapolis.  I lived there for about a week at which point I realized I had moved to Indiana.  Indiana?  I'm a Florida girl!  At that time I knew I had made a good move.  Over the next few years I was reminded of this good move every time I passed the corn fields.  I was in a place where I'd start fresh and get to really set the stage for concentrated training.  I moved into a situation and created the atmosphere I needed for success.  The three items on my plate were training and competing, a part-time clock-in and clock-out job, and a group of training partners that were like-minded.  I didn't try to make a lot of money with a full-time job, multiple jobs, or side jobs.  That wasn't my goal for this time period.  I didn't try to advance my career by joining local leadership programs, doing networking lunches, or by getting another master's degree.  That wasn't my goal.  I didn't proactively try to meet people that were submersed in the arts, triathlon, managing gyms, or teaching.  That wasn't my goal.  My goal was to fully prepare for each and every practice so I would be prepared to compete each and every time. 

Bob told me the same thing.  He encouraged the part-time job.  Afterall, you can't sit in your room and stare at a wall all day when you have an easy day.  Staring at the wall is also the last thing you want to do when you have a bad day. 
Guess what?  For the four years I lived this way, I PRd each year in each event. 
Who would you call?  How many items do you have on YOUR plate?

Preparing to Race--Your Mantra (part 3 of 3)

"It's worth it" on the inside of my purple state ring

The last two posts discussed my talk, "Preparing to Race" at the Brevard Distance Runner's Camp.  The discussion was carried out in three parts and yes, the final part was about a mantra.  You may have guessed that from the title of this post.

Do YOU have a mantra?  Do you know what a mantra is?

After my sophomore year of high school cross-country I wasn't sure about doing cross-country the final two years.  I enjoyed basketball and did well in track, yet cross-country had been difficult and hadn't gone so well. Maybe it wasn't for me I thought.  I loved my team and also I was brought up being taught the values of hard work and having to do things you don't always want to do.  I dug in and worked hard my junior year of cross-country and finished runner-up at the state meet.  Like anyone, I knew I had to win the state championship my senior year.  That meant I had to run more the summer of 1999 than I ever had and that it was going to be tough.  Thus began my mantra, "It's worth it." 

By combining the physical aspect from post 1 and the mental aspects of post 2, I got to work.  I repeatedly used my mantra. When it could have been easy to think, "I want to sleep in" or "Maybe I'll just run later" or "Why am I doing this?" or "I don't want to keep going" or "Who cares?" etc, I trained my brain, mile after mile, to default to "It's worth it."  I used this mantra daily as I worked hard, got tired, missed some fun nights, and the finish line seemed far off.  I used this and it worked. 

What's YOUR mantra going to be this upcoming season?  Find your idea or phrase from something meaningful or inspirational to you.  Then practice it over and over again.  Train your brain to default to what keeps you on track for your goals.  It's worth it. 





Preparing to Race (part 2 of 3)

At camp, after my great opening idea on what it takes to be prepared to race, most of the high school cross-country athletes understood and agreed that--  especially right now, the most important thing they could do to be prepared was to stay on top of their summer training.  To me, that seems pretty straightforward and physical.  Run, run, run when you’re tired, run so much you might cry, or snap, or cry and snap, and then run again more than you ever have.  That’s what summer going into your best season of high school looks like.  Physically tough, but straightforward. 

Many people also agree that running is some % mental and another % physical.  How does this work?  Where are you on the scale? On Monday afternoon I asked my first group at camp, “In July, do you find your sport to be more physical or mental?” I had them step to one side of the field to denote physical % majority or the other side to denote mental.  Then I asked them which majority side they leaned with in August once school had started, regular practice sessions were underway, and the first meet was nearby.  I moved on and asked them about October, the month of pre-state. And what about November?  On Monday and Tuesday I had completely different results amongst the groups.  We discussed each result along the way.

You might not be in high school, but do you have a season planned out?  …or do you have random races on your calendar?  What side would you stand on pre-season, early season, mid-season, and championship season?  How stuck in stone in this?  How does which side you stand on get adjusted by your previous race, your prior week’s training, reading about someone else’s result across the country, or by your coach and teammates and the culture and tradition of your training set-up?  Why did the Tuesday team’s responses look so different than the Monday group’s?

Later this week I will share with you part 3 of the talk I gave at the Brevard Distance Runner’s Camp.

Brevard Distance Runners Camp & Preparing to Race (part 1 of 3)

I LOVE this camp! And I've loved it since I started coming 20yrs ago.  Each July, I venture to Brevard, NC along with 500 other people that are excited to hit the mountainous trails of the Pisgah National Forest and Dupont State Park for a full week.  Some stay for the three separate weeks, but I make it for one. 

Each morning I am in charge of addressing a team or two and this year's topic was: Preparing to Race.
To get you up to speed with all of our high schoolers that were in on the discussion, here's a chance for you to imagine you were with us on the soft trails in the cool mountain air.
If I ask you, "Are you prepared to race?" you may first think about a quick checklist.  You may ponder:

• Am I hydrated? Have I eaten or packed the proper foods?
• Do I know the race start time? How am I getting there?
• What is my bedtime? Do I have my singlet, racing shoes, and bib all ready to go?

Imagine then it's August. The first race of the season is tomorrow and you're on your way home from a pasta dinner at a friend's house.  You're hydrated and you know the answers and have fulfilled the above questions.  Are you prepared to race?  Are you ready?
Well, not if you haven't done the training!  To be ready to race in August, Sept, Oct, Nov, you must-must-must be putting in the training.  Now.  This week.  This week on top of last week and each week moving forwards. 

• What are your summer training goals?  What are your weekly training goals?  What are your daily training goals? 

Are you hitting those?  What are you doing to ensure the highest likelihood of success towards each process goal? 
How are you preparing to be ready to race?  400miles in the summer, 50mpw, make each practice, run with the top group, keep a log, run 6 out of each 7 days?  Let's hear it! 

Next I had the athletes choose sides. 
In the month of July, is running more physical or mental?
In the month of August, is running more physical or mental?
In October?  What about in November?
Think about your season and we'll delve into responses next time.

(Did you see how fast Molly ran last week?!  Who can post her time fastest?)