"Your body will argue that there is no justifiable reason to continue. Your only recourse is to call on your spirit, which fortunately functions independently of logic." - Tim Noakes
April snow showers bring May flowers and PRs, right?? It's been an interesting month. Race cancellations due to blizzards - Zumbro :( - followed by weekends of sun and warmth. It's easy to let events outside of your control get you down; a blizzard cancelling a race, a turned ankle the week before a big race, and occurrences not related to running (because there is, in fact, more to life than running!). It's easy to get stuck in the mud of negative thinking. So what can you do about it? You can always control your perspective. Look for the silver lining, as cliche as that sounds. It may sound a bit Pollyanna-ish, but hey, girl was happy. For those of you who were registered for Zumbro, what did you do that weekend instead? Some people did their own self-supported ultras, others had a fun family weekend, and some of us in La Crosse did a fun group training run out at Perrot. Turned ankle the week before the race? You'll just be extra tapered for the big day. Some people are naturally positively inclined, others have to work at it a little more. It's a skill that takes practice and patience, just like training for a marathon. It's worth it. Learned optimism enhances resilience on the run and in the grand scheme of life itself.
Race Results
*Thank you Dave Bange for compiling!*
Boston Marathon 4/15/19
Jim Stenulson 4:46:10
Kristi Shappell 4:19:28
Chippewa 50K 4/27/19
Josh Franke 4:32:46
Kurt Brown 8:44:05
Silo District Marathon 4/28/19 (Waco,TX)
Michael Borst 2:53:59 - 4th place overall!
Outstanding Volunteers
Thank you Kim Kirckof Siegersma and Jeff Makowski for helping Grand Bluff Training with water stations. It was great seeing such friendly RCRC members encouraging and helping out the running community.
Thank you Dr. Borst, for volunteering your time and downhill running expertise to the running community during the 6th Annual Down The Bluff Practice Run. Such a great way of setting an example of what RCRC is all about.
Thank you Amy and Pete Knapik, Eric VonOsdol, and Hot Dogs for volunteering at Sole Burner. You all ROCK!!!
Margaret's Musings
1.
Your body is capable of much more than you give it credit for. How to you access the next level from your body? It all starts with the mind. Believe that you can and embrace an attitude of success. The next level will fall in to place. What goes through your mind when you’re doing a hard workout? What kinds of things do you tell yourself? Is your self-talk negative or positive?
Imagine this: you are in the middle of a hard workout. Let’s say 6x1 mile repeats. Do you tell yourself “man, I feel like crap. This is so hard!” or “This is challenging, but it’s making me strong!” Which phrase will make the next interval go better? Your perspective throughout the entire day, even for events that are not directly related to running, impacts the quality of your workout and mental attitude to succeed.
For example, let’s say that “Negative Fred” was going to do the workout in the morning before work, but he slept through his alarm and had to rush to work. He skips breakfast. His internal voice says, “shit, I’m late, I’m so cranky I didn’t get my run done.” He spills his thermos of coffee. “Damn it! I’m such a klutz. I need caffeine!” He takes 15 minutes to eat lunch at his desk while browsing a LetsRun.com forum about people arguing about “Are the sugars in fruits good or bad for you?” - then he decides not to eat that afternoon banana. His boss throws another project at him – great, more work.
He finally gets out for his run at 5:30. He’s tired and hungry. He feels sluggish on the first mile repeat. “Man, I feel like crap, this is so hard.” A little better on the second mile repeat, but his mind isn’t focused on the run, he keeps thinking about how much he has to do at work. His third mile repeat is 10 seconds slower than his goal pace. He thinks “I’m slow already on the third mile. I’m never going to hit these splits.” He gives up, goes home, and drinks a beer to drown his sorrows.
2.
Let’s put a positive frame on this entire day. “Positive Fred” sleeps through his alarm. He thinks “Ok, I’m a little crunched for time. I’ll eat a Clif bar on my way to work, and I’ll do my run this evening. On the plus side, it will be sunny and warm!” He spills his coffee at work. “Oops, silly me, next time I’ll be more careful.” For his lunch break, he gets away from the computer and goes for a relaxing stroll to the nearby coffee shop and enjoys a delicious iced coffee and sandwich on the patio. He eats that afternoon banana. He gets that project from his boss. He schedules himself an hour the next morning to work on it (thinking, “I must be doing awesome at my job for my boss to have so much confidence in me!), then wraps up his tasks for the day and makes his to-do list for the next day.
He gets out for his run at 5:30 in the warm sunshine. He's ready to rock it! He still feels a little sluggish on the first mile repeat. “Ok, I’m just getting warmed up.” Second repeat is ok. Third is 10 seconds off, but he reminds himself that he ran up that giant hill in the middle of it. Fourth repeat is on target. He feels good, he’s got momentum! Hit the fifth split, crushing it! Kicks in the sixth mile 5 seconds ahead of pace. He goes home and drinks a beer to celebrate!
How did each of these scenarios make you feel? Heavy and tired, or light and energetic? Which day would you rather experience? Negative Fred and Positive Fred had the same experiences, but drastically different days. The difference was in their mental framing. Pay attention to your interpretation. Live mindfully, live in the present, and live with positivity and joy. Run mindfully, run in the present, and run with positivity and joy.
“To be successful in sport is not a chance. It’s a choice. If you want to be successful, you need to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for. Where you want to go, and why you want to get there.” – Eliud Kipchoge