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!!!!!

The Bull Rider

I am currently waiting at the airport to board my flight to San Francisco. Believe it or not, I am finally going to run a race! I am headed to the Peyton Jordan Invitational at Stanford, and I am going to run the 5K. The race is on Sunday April 29^th. My race will be at 5:40 Pacific time. You can watch it LIVE on Flotrack: http://www.flotrack.com.

If you talk to anyone that is close to me, they will attest that I am both anxious and excited. In September, I recall thinking that by the time this meet was here I would feel ready to run fast and would have all of the confidence in the world…WRONG! I hadn’t imagined having a hiatus in my training because of an injury. Despite this, I know that no matter what, I would find some other reason to not feel fully confident. It amazes me that no matter how prepared you may or not be, you never “feel” as ready you would like. Nevertheless, you move forward.

My college coach compared our lives to bull riding. He asked, “How many bull riders are fully confident as they mount the bull or believe they can anticipate every move that the bull is going to do? Does this stop them from getting on the bull?” Not only this, but he reminded us that the rider can’t get on defensively or with any passivity; he gets on with aggression and with a sense of confidence- even if he feels he has none.

As I head to Stanford, I will be the first to admit that I have my own doubts, and if I voiced them, I know I would sound petty and ridiculous. I will not let doubt and fear win! Thus, I am going to strive to emulate the bull rider that, despite some uncertainty, seizes the chance to compete. I will step to the line with a sense of assertiveness, confidence, and gratitude, and will have great ride!

 Since I didn’t use the verses I intended to us at the US Cross Country Championships, I will repeat the same verse and mentality: 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, love, and self discipline.” I am not called to be timid, and am eager to run for God’s glory with power, love and self discipline as a good soldier would! To God be the Glory!

Passion

Last week I attended a Lifetime yoga class with my roommate, Megan. As some of you know may know, I am not the most flexible person…I consistently failed at the “Presidential Fitness” test in gym class because I was below the 20^th percentile for sit-n-reach, I can’t touch my toes, and my knees point to the sky when I sit cross-legged. I’ve been attending yoga with the goal of increasing my flexibility to prevent injury. This does not make me a “Star Student” of yoga, nor does it make my experience all that enjoyable. During one of the hip stretches that I was already squirming in, the instructor decided he would “enhance” my experience by holding me in the position and adding a little more pressure. I felt so anxious and trapped in the position, but could do nothing about it. The instructor kept repeating, “Don’t give in, or you will miss out on the experience.” Later on, I reflected on the potential missed experience when I try to escape any sort of suffering and recognized the connection between suffering and valuable experiences.

I had a workout Easter morning. I was supposed to run a 5-mile threshold. My brother-in-law, Jeff, came with me. He ran about a step ahead of me, pulling me along. I didn’t check my pace, but I stayed relaxed and focused on running smooth. The yoga instructor’s comment came into my mind: “Don’t miss out on this experience.” When we were done, I checked my pace and was very encouraged; I have not felt that smooth in a threshold before. The 5 miles of fighting fatigue were quickly forgotten, and we both celebrated a great start to our Easter. I can’t even describe the grateful feeling I had, and was so happy I got to share it with my brother-in-law. I think we can all relate to the moments that we are reinforced with a good workout, race, or life experience.

The next day, my mom shared the church bulletin with a reflection by Father Tom Wilson about Passion. His reflection helped me to relate my own workout on Sunday, and my training as an athlete in general, with Christ’s suffering and his own glory!  Fr. Wilson points out that the Webster definition of passion is “a suffering, especially that of Christ.” In general we think of passion as something with a much more glamorous and comfortable connotation. I confidently say that I have a passion for running; I love to train and compete, and to see the potential that I can reach. We all want to pursue our passions, but forget that there is almost always suffering that accompanies the glory in our passion. It was so appropriate to have the workout I had on Easter morning. After I had endured a hard 5 miles of focusing and fatigue, I enjoyed the thrill of feeling encouraged and the rush of endorphins. In a similar way, yet much more extreme, we refer to Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and death as the Passion of Christ. Jesus Christ had to die on the Cross and endure the penalty for all of our sins so that he could truly receive glory in his resurrection. Something so wonderful could not have occurred without the accompaniment of suffering.

With this Easter message in mind, I want to truly embrace suffering and frustration involved in pursuing my passion of running so that I really don’t “miss out on the experience.” If Christ had not endured his suffering, he would never have saved us all from our sins and been glorified in his resurrection and seated at the right hand of God. The value of the experience may not be immediately apparent in our suffering, but I want to relate to Christ’s suffering and celebrate his glory in my own life. As an athlete, I think one way I can do this is to endure hardships and be disciplined, with a trust that there is a value and a purpose in it that will help me to know Christ more. Apparently the season of Easter is 50 days long. During this time, I hope to really focus on the celebration of Passion in my life, particularly on the link between suffering and glory!

“Endure hardships with me as a good servant of Jesus Christ.” 2 Tim 2:3 

Cross Training

Let me start this entry with a bit of a disclaimer: This may be a rather boring entry for some of you, but for those that like to read about some of the technical components of training, or cross training in this situation, I encourage you to read on!

After recovering from an injury and cross training to maintain my fitness, I vow to do my best to avoid being a "Professional Cross Trainer." I do not dream of spending hours on a machine every day. That said, I recognize the benefit of incorporating cross training into my weekly training regime to prevent injury. Although I prefer to run, I need to incorporate some low-impact workouts to ensure that I stay healthy and can maintain year-round training. I plan to integrate cross training into my training regiment for one to two runs per week. Here is a list of some of the cross training methods that I find very helpful; it amazes me how many great resources there are!

1. Alter G- This is a treadmill that literally defies gravity. For those of you that have heard the song, "Defying Gravity," from the play Wicked, you now have the opportunity to actually defy gravity! With the Alter G you essentially ‘zip up’ into a treadmill and can run at an altered weight so your body doesn’t absorb as much impact. OSR, a Physical Therapy clinic in Eden Prairie, offers this resource: http://www.osrpt.com

2. Underwater Treadmill: The name says it all! A treadmill in a pool with jets flowing against you. The impact is much less in the pool, but you still have the benefit of a foot strike. A variety of elite athletes use this as a compliment to their training. It is a great way to add mileage with less threat of injury. Just to name drop, Galen Rupp and Mo Farah, two of the best distance runners in the world utilize this piece of equipment! You can do a variety of workouts by varying the force of the jets. My favorite workout is 30 seconds hard with 30 second recovery. You turn the jets on high. You can really elevate your heart rate with this workout. Although I feel exhausted by the end, I am so encouraged to get a hard workout without putting my body at great risk. Here is a link to an article featuring an injured athlete that used the Underwater Hydro-worx treadmill.

Under Water Treadmill demo

3. Eliptical- This piece of exercise equipment is probably most familiar to most people as it is found in most gyms these days. I find that the eliptical simulates running fairly well and gets my heart rate very high. I think it helps to do intervals on it to get the best workout and to break up the monotony. Once a week while I was injured I did 8 times 6 minutes hard with a two minute recovery.

4. Deep Water Running: This can be completed in the deep end of a pool. Some people choose to wear a water belt that increases buoyancy. I choose to not wear a belt because it makes the workout a little harder. In lay-man's terms you jump in the pool and start pumping your arms and legs, as though you are running, and you are on your way. The advantage to this activity is there is no impact. This exercise is perfect for someone that can do no weight-baring activity. I did a lot of aqua jogging at the beginning of my injury. Sometimes aqua jogging can be frustrating because you don't get a lot of feedback to gauge how fast you are going, but you still can get a great workout if you are intentional about pumping your arms and legs hard. I lose focus easily in the pool, so I enjoy doing 30 sec intervals. This is essentially a sprint, so I pump my arms and legs as hard as I can and simulate a speed workout with no impact at all! Here is a link to a demonstration: Water running demo.

5. Eliptigo- This is a new piece of equipment. The disadvantage of the Eliptical is you may be confined to the indoors, but with the Eliptigo you basically bring the eliptical outside! It is like a bike, but you are standing up on it. The first time I used it, I went around the Chain of Lakes in Minneapolis and barely stopped smiling because so many people stopped to stare! Here is a link to a video for a glimpse of the Elipti-go. I would totally recommend it if you desperately need an alternative to running and can’t stand being stuck inside. http://www.elliptigo.com/

There are a variety of other options for cross training, but this is what I found most enjoyable when running isn’t an option. You can all hold me accountable to cross train at least once a week to maintain year-round running!