Tonight was SO great! I already mentioned that a bunch of us were going out to DQ tonight and it was a really fun time. It ended up being three of us riding from Hopkins down to Minnehaha and it was such a beautiful night for a bike ride. OK well other than me falling over while standing at the stoplight....geez.....
About 10 of us ended up hanging out while eating blizzards. I had to try the Thin Mint which I might add was very tasty :) Being there reminded me how much I miss our group trainings and hanging out afterwards. I have a super group of friends from being a part of TNT.
I've heard many people mention that it's hard to get over "racing" all the time and about how they just get burned out. Been there done that! I usually offer my comments and I would like to ramble about it here.
The lightbulb really went off for me this season. I learned and really took it to heart that it's not about being the fastest or winning or beating yourself up after finishing a race saying "I should have done better" What we do is much more satisfying if you realize you don't always have to pressure yourself to always "race to win" if you know what I mean. When someone tells me they aren't going to participate in a race because "there's no point, I haven't trained hard enough to be fast", I think how big of a bummer that is for them. They could do the race and finish, but they have completely lost sight of all the good reasons we do what we do. Obviously those of us in TNT train for a much bigger purpose of raising money to cure blood cancer but I'm talking about all the "other stuff" Training whether it's fast or slow keeps your body healthy, gives you a stronger heart and a stronger mind. All the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. All the new trails you find. And for me, all the friends I've enjoyed spending time with while training. All the friends I have that are such a support system for me. At Chisago, my time didn't matter. Not one bit. For me the highlights of that day were all about my friends. They were with me on the course, on the roadsides cheering, (love the cowbell Jon!) stopping for "congrats" hugs on the run course and with me at the finish line to celebrate the accomplishment of just finishing. We all trained hard to be ready for that distance. All at our own speeds and I think I can honestly say speak for all of us there that day in saying we were all very proud of each other no matter what time we finished. I mean step back....WAY back..... and look at the bigger picture. What in the WORLD would you have to be disappointed about being able to complete a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run? Talk to the other 90% of the worlds population....they will tell you it's a VERY huge accomplishment. And probably that you are a little nutz but personally I like that title :)
Think about how few people in the world do what we do. Think of all the people that CAN'T do what we do. It's really a priviledge to have a healthy mind and body and get to swim, bike and/or run at all. Yeah it's not fun to get up really early in the morning and drag my butt to swim training but when I get done and step back outside to breathe in that wonderful morning air, I am SO glad I got up to workout and enjoy part of the day I almost slept right through.
Don't get me wrong, I have that same subconscious thought process that every other athlete has from time to time. It brings you down when you don't feel fast enough or good enough or you haven't trained hard enough. But to anyone reading this......promise me and promise yourself that when you get that little negative voice inside your head, you will remember all the many positive reasons you are an athlete. Positive point #1 - YOU ARE AN ATHLETE. Write them down if you have do, I did. And I it was a huge revelation for me to find that "being fast" doesn't rank anywhere near the top.
About 10 of us ended up hanging out while eating blizzards. I had to try the Thin Mint which I might add was very tasty :) Being there reminded me how much I miss our group trainings and hanging out afterwards. I have a super group of friends from being a part of TNT.
I've heard many people mention that it's hard to get over "racing" all the time and about how they just get burned out. Been there done that! I usually offer my comments and I would like to ramble about it here.The lightbulb really went off for me this season. I learned and really took it to heart that it's not about being the fastest or winning or beating yourself up after finishing a race saying "I should have done better" What we do is much more satisfying if you realize you don't always have to pressure yourself to always "race to win" if you know what I mean. When someone tells me they aren't going to participate in a race because "there's no point, I haven't trained hard enough to be fast", I think how big of a bummer that is for them. They could do the race and finish, but they have completely lost sight of all the good reasons we do what we do. Obviously those of us in TNT train for a much bigger purpose of raising money to cure blood cancer but I'm talking about all the "other stuff" Training whether it's fast or slow keeps your body healthy, gives you a stronger heart and a stronger mind. All the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. All the new trails you find. And for me, all the friends I've enjoyed spending time with while training. All the friends I have that are such a support system for me. At Chisago, my time didn't matter. Not one bit. For me the highlights of that day were all about my friends. They were with me on the course, on the roadsides cheering, (love the cowbell Jon!) stopping for "congrats" hugs on the run course and with me at the finish line to celebrate the accomplishment of just finishing. We all trained hard to be ready for that distance. All at our own speeds and I think I can honestly say speak for all of us there that day in saying we were all very proud of each other no matter what time we finished. I mean step back....WAY back..... and look at the bigger picture. What in the WORLD would you have to be disappointed about being able to complete a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run? Talk to the other 90% of the worlds population....they will tell you it's a VERY huge accomplishment. And probably that you are a little nutz but personally I like that title :)
Think about how few people in the world do what we do. Think of all the people that CAN'T do what we do. It's really a priviledge to have a healthy mind and body and get to swim, bike and/or run at all. Yeah it's not fun to get up really early in the morning and drag my butt to swim training but when I get done and step back outside to breathe in that wonderful morning air, I am SO glad I got up to workout and enjoy part of the day I almost slept right through.
Don't get me wrong, I have that same subconscious thought process that every other athlete has from time to time. It brings you down when you don't feel fast enough or good enough or you haven't trained hard enough. But to anyone reading this......promise me and promise yourself that when you get that little negative voice inside your head, you will remember all the many positive reasons you are an athlete. Positive point #1 - YOU ARE AN ATHLETE. Write them down if you have do, I did. And I it was a huge revelation for me to find that "being fast" doesn't rank anywhere near the top.
1 comment:
Great post Kris, you hit the nail on the head! That must've been a pretty clairvoyant blizzard!
About the bike thing though and falling over, ask Kimmi if you can borrow her training wheels (if she's ready to give them up). ;)
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