Tag: endurancesport

Was Gonna, Why Bother and #GSD

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I’m attracted to doers, the kind of people who approach life with an attitude to get shit done #GSD, no matter what the challenges may be. I have limited tolerance for the “was gonna” mindset. This mindset leads to stories that begin with: “I was gonna do [X thing] but [insert bullshit excuse here].” This mindset may also lead to a lot of empty talk about what a person plans to do, yet those plans never get executed. In the failure to try to pursue goals, a “was gonna” mindset presents reasons, excuses that seem perfectly valid. However, I believe …

Why do you run so much?

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“Pushing your body past what you thought it was capable of is easy; the hard part is pushing yourself even further, past what your mind wants to let you. That’s what ultrarunning is all about; introducing you to a self you’ve never known.” ~ Rex Pace Running has been a friend of mine since I was about 12 years old. I originally took to running to “burn calories.” I wanted to achieve some sort of teen-tastic, unrealistic image of what I was supposed to look like. I was a 90-something-pound teenager with all sorts of destructive disordered eating habits. I remember hoping …

The Gift of the Present: 2017 Ironman Lake Placid Race Report

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Feet up and resting the day before Ironman Lake Placid, I scrolled through Facebook and saw this post from my friend and fellow coach Mary: The next morning, I stood on the beach of Mirror Lake, waiting for the 2017 Ironman Lake Placid to begin. In that moment, I lived a different present than the last time I raced an Ironman, 3 years ago. When I first registered for IMLP 2017, I wanted to chase my Ironman past. I felt like I had unfinished business with Lake Placid. I had goals for Ironman – back in 2013 and 2014 – that …

Patient Aggression: Reflection on the Year of the Plow Horse

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Little did I know a year ago, when I dubbed 2014 the “Year of the Plow Horse,” how much I would come to depend on the characteristics of the reliable ol’ plow horse to make it through some of the more challenging races I’ve done. The plow horse is a strong, sturdy animal. She has a lot of work to do, but she can’t rush through it and burn out. No! The plow horse must be patient as she pursues the goals for the day, the week, the month, the year. The plow horse has been uniquely bred with the intention to balance both speed and muscle, …

Instant Gratification & Endurance Sport

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As a culture, we’ve become increasingly absorbed by products, services and experiences that promise instant gratification. In the world of endurance sport, maybe this translates to taking supplements (legal or illegal) to lose weight quickly, to build strength quickly, to boost endurance overnight, to eliminate fatigue. Maybe it means we expect unrealistic results, before we’ve put the time in, before we’ve done the work we need to do in order to achieve the goals that are worth achieving. Maybe it means we compare ourselves to others, thinking if we do exactly what they have done, we’ll have the same results. …