Mind games of late.....

With two steeplechases under my belt for 2012, I am happy to report that things seem to be right on schedule in terms of my personal prep for the Trials.  (Check out the “Schedule” page on my blog if you happened to miss out on either of them). At this point, the challenges shift slightly from what they were a few weeks ago and will continue to change as the Big One approaches.  Through the fall it was all about training. Break and build, break and build- work your butt off, recover as fast as possible, kill yourself again, continue.  Early season racing is about testing yourself while keeping your training load fairly high.  Later it will be about fine-tuning and sharpening up, etc. This whole progression takes place on several levels. The specifics of the training details are the least of my worries, I have a coach to take care of that for me.  Probably not surprisingly, my constant front line battle is in my head.

Despite how the races have played out thus far, four weeks out is not the time to get over excited. I want to take confidence from the previous performances but also keep things in perspective.  I have allowed myself to get nervous about specific people in the past, only to find that they were no where to be seen on race day (because of injury or nerves or whatever).  It’s easy to focus on things that are out of your control-and that is BAD. In times like this, tidbits of advice from past coaches, family, and friends come back to me to keep me grounded……….

“The more you focus on competitors, the more energy you give them.”  That is the LAST thing I want to do.

“Its not over, ‘til its over.”  There are no guarantees about anything, especially in the steeplechase. 

“Keep it simple, stupid.” With momentum going in my direction, the simpler I keep things, the better at this point.

So, here’s the plan:

Step 1: Stay healthy.

Step 2: Trust Coach and my body.

Step 3: Race according to MY plan and not my competitors.

Step 4: Don’t overthink things and make problems out of nothing. 

Step 5: HAVE FUN!! To make it this far has already been a blessing.  I am doing what I love and especially now I get to enjoy the fruits of a solid (painful) fall. 

How about THAT for perspective! Here we go…..ready for anything!

If you haven't seen this video of my coach from the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, its a must! Mark Rowland was and is a phenom and the prospect of getting to work with him was a HUGE reason I decided to come out to Oregon.  Being a good athlete DOES NOT necessarily make you a very good coach, but that is yet another testament to this guys talent!  As good as he was himself, he has developed his athletes to exceed even his own great accolades!  Go Coach Row! Thanks for all the heart and soul (and patience, in my case) you put into your athletes everyday!  We do appreciate it!

These are just some funny old pictures from the last Olympic Trials a friend shared with me the other day! 

They brought me back! I thought it would be fun to share- sorry mom and dad, leave your blue and white at home this year......

Home is where the Heart is

A lot of people back home have asked me the question, “Why Oregon? Why can’t you just train and do what you do at home?”.  That’s a fair enough thing to wonder, seeings how running is not a team sport like Football or Basketball, especially at the professional level.  There are many ways that professional track athletes can successfully coordinate training and life around the sport, which is one of the most beautiful things about it.   All it takes is prioritizing, figuring out what works for you, and believing in the system you come up with.  In my case, Oregon is the best fit right now for a number of different reasons. 

            Coming right out of college, I wasn’t really sure how I was going to make running a career until the very last minute.  When I was offered a spot on the Oregon Track Club, I saw it as an opportunity to jump all-in.  I have other things I would like to do with my life eventually and I figured this was going to be the quickest (while probably most painful) way to really test myself and see if I had what it takes to be great at this level.  I knew there were many risks involved but if I couldn’t handle it or it really just wasn’t for me, I would find out soon and be able to move on.  Plus, I had always wanted to move out to the West Coast for a little while in my life and this was an opportunity to do that too! 

            Training here for a year and a half now, I am very happy with my decision.  Even though running is not a ‘team sport’ so to speak, it was clutch for me to be surrounded by athletes who had been at the highest level during my transition.  They helped me set the highest possible standards for myself and were there to share personal experiences and helpful advice about any challenges I might go up against.  It was also nice to have immediate friends in a new place and to be able to travel with people I knew to far away meets. 

            Financially, this was also a fitting choice.  In addition to my personal contract with Nike, the Oregon Track Club comes with some extra funding that makes life a lot more comfortable for me.  One of those bonuses is paying my coach.  Don’t get me wrong, I would pay him in a heart-beat because I believe that he is worth every penny, but that is a really nice thing for me to have taken care of.  From the beginning, I was excited to get to work with Coach Mark Rowland because of his personal credentials- he won the bronze medal in the Steeplechase for Great Britain in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.  He runs the club extremely professionally, forcing us athletes to take a lot of initiative about our own careers. As an athlete you get a great sense of accountability and empowerment. 

            On top of all that, the weather and environment in Oregon is almost ideal for the runners lifestyle.  It does rain a lot but its not Midwest rain.  Sometimes it lasts for days but its usually not down-pouring and if you time it right, you can generally sneak in your runs around the slower drizzles and not get soaked to the bone.  There are trails galore and I never have to fight traffic or risk my life trying not to slip off the side of a road shared by gravel dump trucks or semi’s.  The community understands running and is very supportive to us. Health and exercise are high priorities, no matter the level or activity. 

            I do miss everyone back home and in State College a lot- no one can replace those people in my life.  I have been so blessed to have family and friends who are willing to accept my decisions and encourage me to do what it takes to chase my dreams.  When I come home, its tough to train like I need to because I get sucked into wanting to spend time with them and help out.  The Midwest is a place I will always come back to and claim as ‘home’. With so many great memories and emotions, it is my ‘comfort zone’, ‘my happy place’.  It has become my ‘vacation’ and right now, that’s perfect!  

Fake it until you MAKE it!!

My plan going into my first steeplechase was to feel smooth early and come home strong.  In the middle of the race, my mind consciously thought, ‘well, I found a rhythm, it slow, but it’s a rhythm.  I should be able to have a big kick in at least….’.

That was just before the announcer boomed the projected time over the loud speaker.  “….if she keeps this pace up, she should run around a 9:39, fast enough for the meet record and the fastest time by an American this year!” 

What?! I couldn’t believe it!!  It was feeling way too easy for that!

After my last two races, Coach and I were beginning to get a little frustrated but this was just what I needed to pull me out of my slump.  Before the race, I had told him that I felt like I was in the best shape of my life and I knew I was doing everything I needed to be doing to run fast times. But my races hadn’t been proving it.   Running is a mental sport and to do well, you have to be fit AND have your mind in the right place.  I had been putting together better workouts than ever in my life but had still been consistently last on my team.  If I couldn’t keep up with these girls in practice, how could I expect myself to be able to keep up with my competitors in races?  My head was filled with doubt and worry and I was focusing on the pain rather than the joy of the sport.  Coach noticed.  He said that I needed to believe what I told him about my fitness and start projecting it to the world.  Like so many other things in life, success requires confidence.  Sometimes if you want something bad enough and you’ve put in the work, you just have to take a risk and Believe.  You have to act like it happened before it actually does.  Live like your dreams came true before they actually do- ‘fake it until you make it’. 

So I went out there and I ran like no one was going to challenge me.  I ran like I had worked harder than anyone else on that starting line.  I ran like it was MY territory.  Of course it probably wasn’t completely the case according to everyone else, but it didn’t have to be. That day I just needed to convince myself. 

When I saw the newspapers and began getting congratulations back about the race, I was really upset at first.  Somehow, the rumor was circulating that I had run a world record.  It was a world leading time for this year (which means very little at this point because the fastest people haven’t run yet) but it was no where close the world record.  I appreciated all the support but it made me upset to think that people were so misled.  Then, I realized that I could use this as a positive thing- I no longer had to play this little game by myself.  Eventually, I would love to break the world record….I’m not there yet but sometimes you have to act like it happened before it actually does, you have to fake it until you make it!