Time Flies

They say, “Time flies when you are having fun”… To say the least, time flew when I ran the TC One Mile race last Thursday night. Some of the fun and joy that accompanied the race included: preparing to race all day and focusing on a single task, meeting other competitive and like-minded men and women runners, lining up with Professional Runners and realizing I am one of them, being cheered on along Nicollet Avenue by all of the fans, and celebrating at the finish line with the amazing friends and family that came out to support me. The race was certainly fun, but the experience was far more valuable than providing a small blink of entertainment, it prepared me well for the races to come in the next two weeks.

My coach and I decided that because there are more opportunities to race a 1500 M than a 5K, I will refocus on the 1500M for the rest of this season in order to chase an Olympic Trials qualifying time. My plan is to race in Boston on June 2^nd at the Boston Twilight Series, June 6^th at the American Milers Club Series in Indianapolis, and finally race on June 9^th  in Indianapolis.

The One mile race went fast. I recall my training partner, Meghan Peyton, saying that she just focuses on getting across the train tracks at about 200 M. I recall reaching that point, and then running through the 400 M mark.  To say the least, part of the race was feeling really long until I realized that I was at 1200 meters, and I somehow missed the 800 M mark. All I could do was try to regain my focus and positive attitude and finish as hard as I could. As I crossed the line, I was amazed by how fast the race really went by.

I was kicking myself after the race. I felt like I lost focus and “blinked” around the halfway point of the race and let the pack go. I have reflected on how I am going to apply what I learned in the race to the next few races. I am visualizing myself staying focused and in the zone for the entire race, and racing with a confidence that I can stick to a pace and the pack all the way through the finish line.

I can’t help but feel frustrated because my tendency in a lot of races is to lose focus and faith for a second- and then try to come back. It reminds me a lot of Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples. In Matthew 14, the men were out on the stormy water and Jesus appeared to them and said, “Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.” Peter walked out of the boat towards Jesus, but when he took his eyes off of Jesus and worried about the waves around him, he began to sink. I think it is the same way with me in racing. As soon as I take my eyes off of the goal and start to think about how I am feeling, I begin to struggle. I am so thankful that I have “brief” 4-minute races where I get to take a risk and have faith. It is my hope that as I step to the line, I can acknowledge that God enables me to do all I do, and then race with a fierce and competitive focus. It is also my hope, that in all areas of my life, my eternal focus stays on Jesus, rather than on myself. For anyone that knows me well, I am far from this goal. Thankfully, Peter doubted and took his eyes off, Jesus still pulled him back up and strengthened his faith. In the same way, I know that Jesus continues to pull me back up, each time I turn back to him and acknowledge that I need him. So, here I go. I know time will fly when I am racing these 1500 M races, but this time it will fly by while I “Take courage and am not afraid!”

“Take Courage. It is I. Do not be afraid!” Mathew 14:27.

Twin Cities 1 Mile!

A quick update on Planet Yetzer: Tomorrow, May 17^th, I will be running the Twin Cities One Mile. It is the US road mile Championship. This will be my first road mile. I have always watched this race down Nicollet Avenue in Downtown Minneapolis and looked forward to the day I could compete in it! Tomorrow is the day! I think I will benefit from this type of race because you just step to the line, run as fast as you can, and have little time to think. There are no laps, just one mad dash to the finish line. I look forward to shutting my mind off and just competing with the elite women around me. There are 14 women in the field. We start at 7:53 PM on Nicollet Avenue. I would love if you came and cheered or even participated! Here is a link for more information and you can even watch it online: TC 1 mile

To Him be the Glory!

Mental Preparation

This past Saturday I was enjoying the afterglow of a successfully completed 400M repeat workout when Coach Barker came over and congratulated me on the effort.  I received the praise and realized that I have a lot of confidence doing short and quick workouts such as 400’s, but I have a much harder time completing longer intervals with the same focus and confidence. He asked if I did any sort of mental preparation, and I acknowledged that I do very little. We decided to meet to establish a mental preparation routine.

            When we met, Dennis reminded me that people say the mental toughness is something that can be trained and everyone can improve. Some people are better at mental toughness, but everyone can grow. We talked for over an hour, and I will cherish every second of it. In summary of our conversation, the two “takeaways” I had are the benefit of picturing the runner I aspire to be and believing I will become it, and learning to run each step with a focus on the immediate task at hand rather than fearing what lies ahead.

            Dennis asked me what kind of runner I aspire to be? He said to go home and consider what kind of runner I want to become and then to picture that on a daily basis. I picture myself running fast on a track with the confidence to push the pace from the moment the gun goes off. I see myself competing at a National and International level. I picture myself as a champion, finishing a race with passion and aggression. It amazes me how picturing myself as a runner that is aggressive and competitive has a profound impact on my mind and actions. Simply viewing myself as a champion makes me want to take care of all of the minor details in my training. None of my behavior is significantly different, but there are minor modifications; I want to continue to eat food that nourishes me, I want to make sure I get adequate sleep, I want to do my rehab and strength routine, etc. It amazes me how believing you can be a champion changes how you view yourself, and thus how you act. I am excited to proceed with my training with a new attitude and daily picture of the runner I am becoming.

             Dennis and I also discussed the negative effects of fear in a race. He pointed out that fear of the “possibilities” certainly cannot help us to reach our potential. When I am racing and someone makes a move, rather than moving with them and racing them, I generally fear I won’t be able to maintain that pace in a few laps and let them go on to have the race of their life without me. When I reflect on my best races, I recall a moment of decision where I wasn’t sure that I would be able to make it to the end of the race at such a pace, but I committed to moving with the group, and ran beyond expectation. I know that this decision to take a risk happens many times throughout a race; there is a constant mental battle between looking too far ahead and committing to the moment. I need to practice and picture myself taking risks and focusing on racing and doing what I need to do in the moment.

Racing in the moment makes me think if the verses in Matthew 6:33-34. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” All I can do is to compete to the best of my ability, and then trust that God has a good and perfect plan. Not everything will happen the way that I want, but I do not need to worry about tomorrow, how I will feel three laps from now, or if I will make it through the next five intervals in the workout. Rather, I can focus on the task at hand and do it well, and trust that taking care of each step will result in a final outcome. As Dennis said, “Take care of all of the little things, and the result will come.”

            I am excited to see the effects of viewing myself as a champion: strong, fast, and courageous. I do not think mental training is exclusive to athletes. We all benefit from having a positive view of ourselves and knowing where we want to go. I feel so blessed that I can use running as a metaphor for the ultimate goal in my life. With running I have an image of the athlete I want to become; similarly, for the ultimate goal in my life, I have the person of Jesus Christ that I want to emulate. As I continue to grow in my relationship with him, I know I will become more and more like him. After I have a vision of who I want to be, I will focus on the small details in my current situation, and trust that they will take care of the end result. This idea is so freeing to me.  The fear of the “what-ifs” don’t matter, but the effort in each moment does. There is nothing more satisfying to say I did the best I can do, and not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself! 

Fleeting Emotions - Peyton Jordan Reflection

The group of great runners I travelled with:
Jon Grey, Me, Jamie Cheever, Meghan Peyton, and Matt Llano

My trip to the Peyton Jordan Invitational has come to an end. I am back to reality in the great city of Minneapolis. To say the least, I am excited to step back on the track and race again!  I ran a 16:34, which is a PR, but not quite the time that I had hoped for. Nevertheless, I gained a lot of confidence from the experience and know that there is more to come! I ended up running in heat 3, which was not the fastest heat, but if I look on the bright side, it allowed me to be actively engaged in the race. Our first mile was around 5:09, but the next two miles slowed a lot. Throughout the race, I was aware that the pace was slowing, but because I haven’t raced this year, and I don’t have a lot of experience with the 5K, I was not confident enough to take control of the race. In retrospect, I wish that I had tried to help make the second mile move faster, but am confident that I can next race.

It is comical to recount the roller coaster of emotions that my mind goes through in just one lap of a race, let alone 12.5 laps. Within one lap I debated if I should take the lead, then questioned if I could hang on, and then a few strides later I would debate how soon I could take the lead and go for the win, but then return back to the fear and doubt of debating if I could hang on! I learned that within a 5K, I cannot respond to my immediate instinct and emotion, but that I must trust that I can press on and continue to drive the pace. I believe that this is the case in all I do. I am often tempted to give in to my momentary and fleeting emotion, rather than to trust that God has a good and perfect plan for me and that he will enable me press beyond my fleeting emotion or temptation. It makes me think of the verse 1 Corinthians 10:13, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so you can stand up under it."

Up next for me is a little uncertain. I am hoping to race another 5K this May. I might have the opportunity to go to California to compete at the Oxy High Performance Meet on May 18^th. I can’t wait to race again and to compete with a stronger belief that I can run faster now that I have one race under my belt and an affirmed confidence that I have Christ strengthening me to push beyond my fleeting emotions. 

I have much more to reflect upon from the trip, but for the sake of time, I will have to share more of what I learned from my trip in my next post. Thanks for all of your prayers and support at the Peyton Jordan Invitational. It is fun to reflect on an actual race, rather than just my training! We are now officially in Track Season!!!!!