Both Sides of the Brain.

I am lucky to have a couple of friends that keep me honest and keep me motivated. We are all in our 2nd full year as pro triathletes, and we have similar experiences and challenges, if not strengths.  While we don’t live in the same cities, the emails fly back and forth daily, and they are filled with hilarious stories and valuable nuggets of motivation to keep us moving as we try to claw our way up the pro ranks with the added challenge of working full-time.  We each have very talented coaches, so we don’t look for training advice, but rather the proverbial “kick in the ass” at the end of a long day when the bike trainer is staring you down.

I am grateful for their friendship and humor.  Who are these girls? LJ and LH... and they may need to change their blog name now that they’re no longer officially “rookies.”

LJ inspired me last night with a little nugget of thought-provoking motivation.  She said that she’s reading a book about the Tarahumara Indian tribe of the Colca Canyon in Northern Mexico.  I haven’t read the book yet, but I have read articles about this fascinating tribe of endurance athletes that can run for miles and miles, usually barefoot.  It’s on the reading list now, though.  Anyway, LJ was talking about how this tribe does not see running as a chore; it is a joy and they soak up every second of it.  We need to ENJOY these workouts, soak them up and be totally engaged in the process.  Bottom line: CHANGE YOUR ‘TUDE.

19 and Clueless. But smiling!

This got me thinking back to college when I walked onto ASU’s xcountry team. I hadn’t run a 5k before and had been a total rookie to the sport. One of the more seasoned runners on the team, Allison, told me a little tip:  Always smile at the spectators during the race. You’ll find they smile back, and it’ll give you energy. She was so right! I have been scamming that smile for years now on the race course, and after a while, you start to believe that you really are having fun out there!

But training was another story. I am an analytical freak when it comes to my data. I can’t help it; my coach created this monster. I love the numbers and I’m constantly monitoring where I’m at and where I need to be. Of course I still do this on race day, but race day is more of a celebration of all the hard work, with no real surprises since I’ve tried to maintain consistency in training.

Essentially, this would require both sides of my brain (creative and analytical).  So this morning I tried really hard to follow LJ’s advice and try to “run like the Tarahumara”– fully engaged, totally enjoying it, and feeling blessed to be there.

Attitude really IS everything.  Blah blah blah — We all know this, but how often do we really apply these principles to our workouts everyday? Workouts, that I will add, we CHOOSE to do. This is not torture; we are 100% willing participants and have chosen this hobby as an outlet for our competitive drive, talent, and interests.  Sure it’s fun to complain about how much we are getting slammed by our coaches and how sore and tired we are and how hard it is to fit it all in some days . . . but come on– we CHOOSE to do this because it’s fun and it is fulfilling for many different reasons.  Let’s get back to that.  Keep the analytical side firing, but engage your creative side and don’t forget how blessed we are to be doing this.

Thank you, Lindsey, for the “kick in the ass” and getting me back on track!    Not surprisingly, it was the best run so far this year.

And as for my smiling college friend . . .  it looks like she’s teaching her son the same lesson at a very early age.  This was from his first 5k race.  He’s already workin’ the crowd –  I love it!